A Fresh Start
by juniper3601
Summary: After being rejected by Finn for good how will Rachel move on? Who will be there to hold her hand and how will she change him too?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I can't promise that my characters will be 100% canon. In my story, Quinn never agreed to give her baby up for adoption to Terri and Puck and Rachel getting together in Mashup (Ep 8) also never happened. I guess this is what happens after Ep 7 in my twisted brain. **

**This is my first fanfic so I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 1

***RPOV***

It had been two weeks since I returned to Glee Club. I hadn't returned for my own sake. I did it for Finn Hudson. Dreamy, handsome, sweet, caring Finn Hudson. After the initial shock of learning of Quinn's pregnancy, I knew what I had to do for Finn. He needed the music scholarship so he could support Quinn and the baby. I will do anything for him. Besides, this is just a bump on the road that leads towards my inevitable relationship with Finn. My dads have always taught me that the way to achieve one's goals is through perseverance. I will patiently wait for Finn. I know deep in my heart that all of these secret kisses that have passed between Finn and me mean something. How could they not?

So there I was on my way to sixth period, excited because it means the day is almost over and then I have Glee rehearsal. Glee is by far the best part of my day. It is the time I can forget all of the drama of high school, let all my cares go and just feel the music. I can forget that Finn still hasn't realized he wants to be with me. I can forget that Quinn is pregnant with Finn's child. I can forget the slushee facials. I can forget the taunting of most of the McKinley High student body. All I need to do is sing. Oh, and I get to sing with Finn, dance with Finn, and touch Finn.

As I entered my sixth period class, Jacob Israel cornered me. When will this kid get a clue? I have absolutely no interest in him. "Rachel, you must be excited."

"What are you talking about Jacob? Excited about what?" I snapped back at him. This kid is forever baiting me for a reaction and I was getting sick of his game.

"Didn't you hear? I can't believe you haven't heard yet!" Jacob's eyes lit up with the anticipation of divulging juicy gossip to me. "Quinn confessed that Puck is the father of her baby, not Finn. Looks like you'll finally get the chance to snag your man."

I didn't wait to hear any more from Jacob. I had to find Finn. He must be devastated right now. I knew that he and I were always meant to be together. I hurried out of the classroom and into the hall. Finn's sixth period class was only two doors down from mine. I needed to get to him to be there for him in his hour of need. I ran out into the hall and there was Finn. I called out to him and he stopped.

"Finn, oh Finn. I just heard the news. How are you doing?" I said breathlessly as I caught up to him. "You must just be devastated finding out that Quinn cheated on you, that Puck betrayed you, that the child you thought was yours isn't. . ." I had intended to say more, but Finn cut me off.

His voice was strained when he answered me. "Of course I'm hurt Rachel. What kind of stupid question is that?"

"I'm sorry Finn. I didn't mean to offend you. I was just trying to let you know that I am here for you." I stuttered out. Just then, Quinn turned the corner and linked arms with Finn.

"What are you doing here freak?" Quin spat out at me. I looked up at Finn in disbelief. Why wasn't he pulling away from her? Why didn't he defend me like he normally did? A crowd had gathered around the three of us in the hall. I could start to hear the whispers building around us and more students were coming out of the classrooms to join the crowd.

"Finn? What is going on?" My heart was sinking and the normal self-confidence I exuded was crumbling.

"Nothing is happening Rachel. That is the point." Finn's voice was raised as he said this. "I am staying with Quinn."

"How can you say that Finn?" My voice was cracking.

"This whole mess has made me realize that I love Quinn no matter what. I'm not happy about what happened, but she and I will get through this." Quinn was smirking at me as Finn was talking. "I'm going to stay with her and rise this baby."

"I thought what we had was special, Finn." I managed to whisper. I didn't trust my voice to speak any louder.

"What we had was a mistake. Do you hear me Rachel?" He then turned to all of the others standing the hallway. "Everyone hear that? Rachel Berry and I will never ever be an item." I didn't hear anything after that. The blood started pounding in my ears and it was all I can do to stumble further down the hall away from Finn and Quinn. All I wanted to do right then was to get away from the school and curl up at home in my bed.

***PPOV***

"You're a Lima Loser and you're always going to be a Lima Loser." It had been two weeks since Quinn had said those hateful words to me. They ran on an endless loop through my brain. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get those words out of my head. The only time I seemed to have any relief was in Glee. I know, it seems strange that I like Glee so much. I was the last one to ever see this coming that's for sure. All I know is that when I sing, all my troubles disappear and I can forget about all the bullshit.

I didn't want to be together with Quinn. What happened between her and I was a mistake. I still can't believe I betrayed Finn that way. Quinn claims I got her drunk on wine coolers. She took four sips of one of the wine coolers that she stole from her parents' basement and started acting all giddy and ridiculous. In truth, she was getting on my nerves and I was just about to send her home when she started coming on to me. I tried to resist her, but I'm a teenage boy and I can only resist so much before I give in. Quinn was eager, very eager and I caved. Immediately afterwards I felt horrible. Quinn told me to "man up and get over it." I couldn't believe that she didn't feel guilty for cheating on Finn.

Despite the fact that sleeping with Quinn was a mistake, that doesn't mean I won't take responsibility for my actions. I don't want to be like my loser father. Quinn won't even give me a chance to prove I can take care of my child. It is tearing me up inside to know that I have a child on the way and that I will never be able to be a part of its life. Even now that she has come clean to Finn. Now both her and Finn have deemed me a bad influence. My own best friend. I had known him since we were kids, but all of a sudden I wasn't good enough.

I was running late to my last class of the day. I had been daydreaming in the library during fifth period and lost track of time. The halls were empty as I made my way to English. At least this way I didn't have to pretend to be happy and carefree when my mind was weighed down with other things. As I turned the corner, I saw Rachel Berry stumbling down the hallway. I groaned to myself. Just what I didn't need right now. Rachel Berry is a gigantic pain in my ass. If only I would have been on time. I could have avoided this. She continued stumbling down the hall with her right hand running along the row of lockers for support.

"Hey Berry! What are you doing? Shouldn't you be sucking up to a teacher in your class right now?" I yelled in her direction. She didn't turn around. What's up with that? I watched her stumble a few more steps before I realized that something was seriously wrong with her. Crap! I know I torture Rachel on a daily basis, but she was scaring me here. I couldn't leave her there to fend for herself in this condition. My plan was to just get her to the nurse and be on my way. I jogged to catch up with her calling her name a few more times. She still didn't turn around. I made it to where she is and tapped her left shoulder with my right hand.

"Rachel?" Once I touched her, she whirled around to face me. When I saw her face, my stomach dropped. She had tears running down her face and her normally fiery eyes were dead. She didn't even look at my face until I grabbed both her shoulders and shook her a few times. The scariest part was how quiet she was. Rachel Berry was never quiet.

"Rachel! Did you take something? Tell me if you took something." I never took Berry for a pill popper, but her behavior was so off I didn't know what to think. As I finished saying this, Kurt came scurrying around the corner. He had Rachel's bag and jacket in his hands.

"Oh thank God you found her! I ran to her class as soon as I heard. Her stuff was there, but she was gone." He said all of this in one breath as he smoothed his hair back into place.

"What the hell is going on with her Kurt? Did she take something? Is this a medical condition?" I was so frustrated. Why couldn't he just say what was going on?

"I'm afraid this is much worse. We need to get her out of here pronto."

"Cryptic much? Tell me what's going on now," I demanded.

"Finn declared to the entire student body that he and Rachel were never going to happen. It was a public spectacle. You know how Rachel feels about Finn – she must be in shock." Rachel started to falter and sway like she was going to faint. Kurt went to grab for her, but given his lack of strength he could barely hold her up.

"Give her to me." I couldn't believe the words as they were leaving my mouth. All I knew was I needed to help Rachel. She looked so small and weak at that moment - so different for her norm. "Listen, Kurt, I'm going to take her home. You tell Mr. Schu that Rachel got sick and that I had a doctor's appointment or something."

"Um, okay," was all Kurt could manage in reply. I took Rachel's bag and jacket from Kurt. I slung the bag over my shoulder and wrapped her jacket around her shoulders before picking her up and cradling her to my body. She was so tiny.

I easily made it to my truck and strapped Rachel in before placing her bag by her feet. I ran around to my side, jumped in, and tore out of the parking lot. Rachel was still out of it. I sure hoped someone was home at her house. Shit! It would help if I knew where in the hell she lived. Great! Now what I was going to do? I hadn't really thought through my plan when I took Rachel from Kurt back there in the hallway. I slammed my hand against the steering wheel and let out a grunt of frustration.

"What's going on?" a scared voice asked. My outburst had finally managed to rouse Rachel from her catatonic state. She looked at me with her big eyes. She obviously didn't trust me.

"Um, you kind of freaked out back there at school and I got you out of there." I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Noah. I beg you - if you have some ulterior motive to further humiliate me today. . . please, just don't. I can't handle it." Her voice sounded so small and defeated.

"Can't you believe that I'm just doing something nice for you?"

"What part of your past behavior towards me would lead me to believe that?"

Damn it. She had a point. "Well, um, nothing. I'll just take you home. I doubt you want to go back to Glee and see Quinn and Finn right now."

"No!" She shouted making me jump. "No. I can't face the kids in Glee today."

"That's what I figured. Where do you live? I'll drop you off."

Rachel started groaning. "No. I can't go there either. My dads will want to know why I'm not at Glee and I just can't bear to tell them." Her voice broke at the end of her sentence. "Oh God. Where am I going to go?" she choked out through her tears.

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I never knew how to handle emotional girls. I wasn't really good with emotions in general.

She sniffed and tried to control her crying. "I guess you can drop me off at the public library. I can kill time there until I can go home."

"Is that what you want?" Why was I asking her this? I should just drop her at the library and be on my way. I couldn't shake this nagging feeling though that I needed to take care of Rachel. After all we were both suffering for the same reason. Rachel still hadn't answered me.

"You don't really want to go to the library do you?" She just shook her head. "That's what I thought." With that being said, I whipped a u-turn with my truck and turned away from the Lima Public Library.

***RPOV***

Noah's truck careened around and started driving in the opposite direction of the library. I had to grab on to the door handle to keep from sliding across the bench seat. "Noah. Where are you taking me? You just turned away from the library."

"What no lecture about the dangers of disobeying traffic laws?"

"You didn't answer my question." Why did he always have to be so difficult to be around?

"Don't worry about it Berry." He didn't say anymore after this.

I still felt numb from the humiliation I had suffered earlier. I had been so sure that it was just a matter of time before Finn realized that he and I were meant to be together. I felt so foolish. The whole school knew how I felt about him. I didn't know how I was going to face everyone at school again. The sharks were going to be out in full force tomorrow. It would be a feeding frenzy. I had lost myself in my thoughts and hadn't paid attention to where Noah was driving.

I roused myself from my thoughts as Noah parked in a driveway a few doors down from Finn's house.

"What are we doing here Noah? The last thing I want to do is see Finn right now thank you very much."

"This is my house Rachel." He was looking at the steering wheel as he said this. "I figured it was the last place anyone would look for you since you don't want to see anyone. . ." he trailed off. I was speechless. It was actually kind of thoughtful of him. "C'mon. No one's home right now." He got out of the cab of the truck and walked around to my side and opened my door. He grabbed my bag and held his hand out to me.

"How did you get my bag?" I hadn't noticed it up to this point.

"Oh, um, Kurt brought your bag and jacket when he came to check on you. I took it from him when I told him I would take care of you." Noah was still there with his hand out to me.

"So Kurt knows I'm here?"

"Not really. He knows you left with me, but not that you're here. I told him I would take you home."

I was speechless again. All I could do was nod my head like a fool and put my hand in Noah's. My hand fit so nicely in his. Why was I even noticing that? I was with Noah Puckerman - the jock who had tortured me through high school. He was the inventor of the slushee facials. I took one step out of the truck and felt my knees buckle. Before I could grab on to the door of the truck for support, Noah had his arm around my waist steadying me.

"Whoa there. Looks like you're still a little shaky."

God this was so embarrassing. "Thanks, but you don't have to do that. I'll be fine." I tried to take another step, but by legs failed me again.

"Don't be stubborn Rachel." In one swift movement, Noah bent down, picked me up and started carrying me towards his house. I was cradled securely against his body. For a fleeting second I felt relief, but I quickly pushed that aside. I chalked it up to temporary insanity left over from my earlier episode.

"I could've walked you know. You don't need to trouble yourself this way."

"It's no big deal. It's not like your heavy. I could hold you all day. Not that I'd want to hold you all day or anything. I just mean you're pretty light and it's not hard for me to carry you." Noah was fumbling around for words. His outburst had taken me by surprise. "Look, the point is we need to get in quickly before anyone spots you here and knows where to find you. That won't happen if you're standing outside waiting for your strength to come back."

"Uh, okay thanks." I was still stunned. This was surreal. Noah Puckerman was not only being nice to me, but he was willingly carrying me into his home. His home was modest, but immaculate. Noah carried me to the couch and laid me down before pulling the blanket from the back of the couch over me.

He flopped down on the end of the couch by my feet stretching his legs out in front of him and tipping his head back toward the ceiling. "Do you want to talk about it?" His voice was hesitant.

"No, not really. I don't think I can handle that right now." The tears threatened to start falling again as I said this.

Noah breathed a sigh of relief. "How about we just watch TV and pig out? I'll get us some snacks."

"Won't your mom be mad if we eat in here? She seems like a very particular housekeeper."

"My mom works a lot and can't keep up with this stuff. I am the housekeeper here." Noah's admission left me shocked yet again. How many times was that going to happen today? I was starting to realize that I had no idea who the real Noah was.

"In that case, I accept." I grabbed the remote and stared flicking through the channels. I didn't know what was typically on at this time of the day since I was normally still in school. One of the movie channels was playing "A Star is Born" and I decided a little Judy Garland was just what I needed at that moment.

"What is this?" Noah asked as he returned with some popcorn and sodas.

"Hmmm. I should've known you wouldn't want to see this. It's okay. We can find something else to watch." I reached for the remote again intending to find a different program.

"I didn't say I didn't want to watch it. I just asked what it was." He continued on in a softer voice. "After the day you've had it's the least I can do."

"Oh okay. Well, um, this is 'A Star is Born' starring the incomparable Judy Garland." Once I said that we settled in to watch the movie. Noah returned to his spot at my feet and we set the bowl of popcorn on the couch between us where we could both reach it. I lost myself in the scenes and Judy's singing.

As the end credits rolled, I turned to Noah, "I just love that movie."

"Yeah. It was okay I guess for a musical and all."

"Well thank you for indulging me." I was a little uncomfortable again. I didn't want to overstay my welcome, but I really wasn't ready to go home yet either.

"Hey let's go to my room and we can do our homework." Noah was cleaning up the remnants of our snack. He returned from the kitchen, grabbed my bag and picked me up again.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea."

"Rachel. This is all harmless. My mom and sister will be home soon and things will get kind of hectic in here. It will be quiet in there and I promise to mind my own business and not bother you." The whole time he was saying this he was carrying me to the back of his house. He opened a door revealing his bedroom. He set me down on his bed, smoothing the blanket from the couch over me again. I decided not to over think things for once and started in on my homework. I didn't have much tonight and I was done quickly.

"Noah. Thanks again. You have been so kind today."

"Don't worry about it Rachel. The way I look at it is we are both being shut out. You're being shut out by Finn and I'm being shut out of my child's life."

"Oh God, Noah. I've been so selfish. I didn't even think of your feelings here." I was so ashamed of my complete lack of concern for his situation.

"It's okay Rachel."

"No, it's not. It most certainly is not. Isn't there something you can do? Can't you get a lawyer?"

"How would I afford that? There is nothing I can do."

"This is so wrong Noah." The room fell quiet again. Neither one of us knew what to say. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, I cleared my throat. "Noah, can I ask you something?"

"I guess. What do you want to know?"

"Why are you always such a jerk at school? Why do you treat everyone like dirt?"

Noah let out a long sigh. "I promise to answer your question truthfully if you promise to answer one of mine truthfully."

I was shocked. I thought he would have some kind of sarcastic remark. "That sounds fair."

"I told myself when my dad left that I would never let myself be hurt like that again. I hurt others before they can hurt me." He let out a small chuckle. "I've never told anyone that before. It's just easier being the asshole than making sure people like me."

"Thank you for your honest answer. I know that letting me see this side of you can't be easy."

Noah was quiet for a moment before he turned to me, "What about you?"

I gave him a confused look. "What about me?"

"Why do you act like a pixie on speed at school? You've been so calm the whole time you've been here."

"Um, same reason," I answered him quietly. "I put up an armor just the same as you." Just then my eyes feel on the clock beside his bed. "It's already 5:00. I should get going. I like to post my daily Myspace performance by 6:30 every night."

"You're still going to do that even after everything that has happened today?" His voice was incredulous.

"Of course. I can't let the rest of the students see me falter. Besides, I know the perfect song for today. The movie inspired me."

"Okay, I'll take you home." Noah held out his hand and helped me to my feet. "Just so you know though, most girls beg to stay in my room with me, not leave." A smirk was playing at the edges of his mouth. I couldn't help it –I laughed.

***NPOV***

Later that night after I had dropped Rachel off, I laid in my bed trying to sort out everything that had happened today. Today had been a shit day. I was still shut out of my child's life and Finn hated me now. I'm not stupid. I understand why he does, but why was Quinn held harmless in all of this. It takes two to tango. She is just as guilty as me.

Then there was Rachel. I had never really thought of her much before. I bullied her and her friends everyday, but I never thought beyond that until now. I didn't know how to reconcile the feelings I was having. Besides, not even Rachel deserved the level of humiliation she suffered today. I can't believe Finn treated her like that.

I laid there fidgeting a little longer before starting up my laptop and logging on to Myspace. It didn't take me long to find Rachel's page. I clicked on her newest video posting.

_As you know, I usually preface my performances with an explanation about the song. I'm not going to do that today. I think everyone can figure out why I picked this song._

The music started and then Rachel began to sing:

_The night is bitter_

_The stars have lost their glitter_

_The winds grow colder_

_And suddenly you're older_

_All because of the man that got away_

It was one of the songs form the movie we had watched together. She took my breath away. The amount of passion she conveyed through the song was just. . . well, beautiful. A soft knock sounded at my door and my mom stuck her head in to my room. Rachel's video continued to play in the background.

"I'm sorry Mom. Is my music too loud?" My mom worked so hard ever since my dad left us. I hope I hadn't disturbed what little sleep she is able to still get.

"No honey – just saying good night. Everything okay? You've been holed up in here all night." I really wanted to tell my mom about Quinn and the baby, but I couldn't worry her like that.

"Nah Mom, I'm fine – just a lot of homework." I lied through my teeth.

My mom's attention was captured by Rachel on the computer. "Who is that honey?"

"Oh, um, that's Rachel Berry – a girl from school and Glee club."

"Wow. She is amazing."

I smiled at my mom, "Yeah she is, isn't she?"

**A/N: So there it is. I hope you like it. I don't have a beta so I apologize for any mistakes. The song Rachel sang was "The Man That Got Away." You can find it on youtube. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter or added me to their favorites or alerts. I was touched by your responsiveness. I tried to respond to all who reviewed, but I apologize if I missed anyone.**

**This chapter is dedicated to the person who gave me the nickname Juniper many moons ago. Today is his birthday and it seems only fitting to give him some credit.**

**I don't have a beta so I apologize for any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, Myspace or any of the songs mentioned in this chapter.**

Chapter 2

***RPOV***

I tossed and turned most of the night. The events of the day haunted my dreams. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the student body of William McKinley High School laughing and pointing at me. Around 4:00 a.m. I gave up trying to sleep. I didn't want to make my smoothie yet and start exercising as per my normal morning routine – it was too early and I would wake my dads. I needed to find something to bide my time until I could safely start my regular day at 6:00 a.m. I decided I would try and gauge how my school day was going to be. I logged on to Myspace to review the comments on my video posting from last night. It may have been a bit predictable for me to use "The Man That Got Away," but it accurately conveyed my feelings and I didn't have the energy at the time to search for anything else to use. My heart dropped when the comments appeared on the screen. A random sampling of the messages included:

**What a loser!!!**

**I can't believe you ever thought you had a chance with Finn.**

**You are such a freak.**

There were also some kind comments from some of the fellow Glee club members. Mercedes wrote:

**Hang in there girl. I'm here for you.**

Artie said:

**Your talent continues to amaze me. I have chills.**

Then, at the bottom was a message from an anonymous reviewer. The message read:

**Don't ever forget how good you are. And hang on to that. Because I'm right.**

I recognized the quote immediately. The anonymous poster had quoted "A Star is Born." The reviews of the Glee kids and the mystery person gave me a little bit of hope for the day. I didn't delude myself to think the day wouldn't be horrible though. I was so scared to go back to school. I knew by now the entire school would have heard of my humiliation. I couldn't even bring myself to check Jacob's blog. With my luck, someone had probably captured the whole debacle on their cell phone. I was there the first time around. I didn't need to see the rerun.

I was also unsure what to expect from Puck. Puck? I just realized I had referred to him as Noah the whole time he and I were together yesterday. Hmmmm, why had I done that? Maybe it was because yesterday when I was with him he wasn't Puck. He wasn't the horrible bully who doused me in slushes and egged my house. He was Noah – the boy who helped someone in need, who kept his house in order to help his mom, and who had tolerated my musical because he knew I needed comfort. He had put my needs before his own. He had let me see past his tough exterior. Would his defenses be back up at school?

I truly did feel sorry for Noah. He was going to be a father, but he was also going to be denied the chance to be involved in the child's life. Noah and I hadn't really talked about anything yesterday so I didn't know the circumstances of what transpired between he and Quinn, but judging by his demeanor yesterday it was obvious he was trying to accept responsibility for his actions.

Before I knew it, it was 6:00 a.m. I quickly drank my smoothie and started in on my exercise. Exerting myself physically helped to relieve some of my tension, but I was still on pins and needles. Just as I finished with my shower, my phone beeped indicating that I had a new text message. It was from Kurt.

_**Come open your front door. I don't want to ring the bell and disturb your dads.**_

What was Kurt doing at my house so early? I ran downstairs and opened the door for him. He had me in a hug before I knew what hit me. "How are you doing darling? I have been so worried about you."

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, "I won't lie. I've been better."

"I just can't believe that Finn Hudson. How could he be so cruel to you?"

"What are you doing here Kurt?" I purposely chose to ignore his comments about Finn. I really didn't want to talk about him.

"I came here to dress you of course." He said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself thank you very much."

"On any other day I would agree with you, but not today. You need an outfit that shows those mouthbreathers at school that their opinions don't affect you." Kurt's eyes were gleaming.

"I really don't want to draw extra attention to myself today.

"I hate to say it Rachel, but that will be impossible."

He had a point. "Fine, but no sequins or feathers."

"Well that does limit me, but I'm sure I can still make this work," and with that Kurt dragged me to my room to get started on my wardrobe. He was a whirlwind going through my closet. Clothes were being tossed out right and left over his shoulder. I tried to catch the items as they flew past my head. He emerged about 5 minutes later with what he had deemed the "perfect outfit." It was a short denim skirt and a flowy scoop neck pink top.

"Seriously Kurt? I could've picked this outfit myself." My annoyance rang through in my tone.

"Just put this on and then come out here so I can do you hair and make-up. No arguing. We don't have much time."

I grabbed the clothes out of Kurt's hands and stomped off to my bathroom to change. While I changed I called out to Kurt. "Hey Kurt. Thanks for getting my stuff for me yesterday."

"Don't mention it. You would've done the same for me."

I exited the closet and sat on the stool in front of my vanity. Kurt came and stood behind me and started brushing through my hair. "So, how are you doing? I saw your Myspace video last night." Kurt's concern held a hint of morbid curiosity behind it. "Fabulous song by the way – anything by Judy is always a win."

"Thank you. I felt I gave another superior performance." I noticed Kurt was styling my hair in my normal fashion. "Kurt, this is the same way I wear my hair every day."

"Time to start your make up." He was avoiding the subject. He twirled the stool so I was facing him."

"Kurt, what is going on?"

"Stop talking. I can't distribute your foundation evenly if you keep opening your mouth." I snapped my mouth shut and glared at him. Kurt hurried through the remainder of my make up in silence. As he applied my lipstick, he revealed the real reason for his early morning visit. "So. . . Puck. . .what a knight in shining armor yesterday. How did it feel to be saved by him you damsel in distress?"

"I knew it!" I shouted at Kurt. "I knew this makeover was suspect. You're just here to fish for information."

"Now who is avoiding the subject?"

"Noah was a perfect gentleman yesterday."

"Noah?"

Crap! I had to think quick and cover my slip. "Well it is his name." I knew I sounded less than convincing.

"Which no one ever uses!"

"Kurt, I think you've been hanging around the Neanderthals on the football team too much. It is polite to refer to one's peers by their given name, not their last name or some bastardized version of it."

"Me thinks you doth protest too much."

I let out a growl and stomped my foot. "Fine! What do you want to hear? He took me back to his place and we spent the afternoon and evening deriving pleasure from each other's bodies in ways you've never even dreamed of."

Kurt's jaw hit the ground. "Hussy!"

"Kurt! How long have you known me?"

His answer was delivered in one breath, "Four years, two months and twelve days."

"Exactly! I cannot believe that you would think I would be capable of such salacious behavior." Okay, so maybe certain questionable scenarios had crossed my mind last night, but that was just a lingering result of my state of shock. Right?

"Well we are talking about Mr. Cougar Bait. That boy is pure sin. He could seduce anyone – even me for instance."

"Like that would be a real challenge for him." The sarcastic remark escaped my lips before I could stop it.

"Ouch. I guess I deserved that. Truce?"

"Truce."

"Come on. You can ride to school with me." Kurt was silent as we left my house and drove to school. I didn't say anything either. I was terrified of how the day would progress. Kurt parked his Navigator in the student lot. I could tell he was bursting to start asking me more questions. "Did you really go to his house?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

Kurt huffed in frustration. "How was that?"

"Fine. We watched TV, did our homework, and then he took me home." I purposely left out all other details. I had zero desire to share them with Kurt.

"Hmmm. . . you're holding back. I can't say I'm not hurt by your lack of candor, but given your traumatic ordeal yesterday, I'm going to let it slide for now."

"Thanks Kurt." My voice was almost a whisper.

"Hey – chin up honey. You are about to march into that school and give the greatest performance of your life. Don't let them see you sweat."

He was right. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing how badly I was affected by Finn. I squared my shoulders and shook out my hair. "I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille."

"That's my girl."

***NPOV***

Rachel was the first person (besides my mom) that I had ever let see past my hard exterior. She saw the real me. Why did I let her in like that? The strange thing was I found myself not even caring. I had an odd sense of relief knowing I didn't have to keep up the front around her. What was it about her that put me at such ease? The best part of it was she had let me her true self too. What the hell? I was so going soft. I put my hand between my legs to see if I had sprouted a snatch. Nope, Puck, Jr. was still there.

If I was being honest with myself, Rachel had been on my radar since she saved our ass at the Invitational. Rachel had stepped in to sing in April's place. She hadn't done it for herself – she had done it for the whole Glee Club because we needed help. Hmmm. . . April Rhodes, now there was a girl who knew how to have fun, but I digress. Back to Rachel – Rachel may have been singing with Finn at the Invitational, but I couldn't help sneaking looks at her when we were performing. I had let the thought of Rachel evaporate quickly though. I had listened to my Puck persona and convinced myself that Rachel Berry wasn't good enough for me. Who had I been kidding?

After my mom left my room last night, I had replayed Rachel's performance of the song from that musical we had watched together. It was so good. She had so much talent. I winced as I read through the comments people had posted to her video. The majority of them were downright cruel, with the exception of a few kind ones from the other Glee kids. Rachel was going to be crushed. After yesterday, I knew that she was so much more fragile than she let people see. A line from the movie stood out in my head. I posted it in response to her video because it applied to her.

**Don't ever forget how good you are. And hang on to that. Because I'm right.**

Yeah, I posted it anonymously. It wasn't because I was afraid of what people would say about me. I mean, let's face it – I could wear a dress to school and still be cool. I did it because I didn't want to invite more speculation onto Rachel's personal life.

I had finished all of my homework when Rachel was here with the exception of practicing my sole for Glee Club. Mr. Schu had asked each of us to prepare and perform a solo. He said it was to further evaluate our voices and to help him expand our song repertoire. I think it was because he spent his lunch hours cozying up to Miss Pillsbury instead of choosing songs for the Glee Club. That's right. I saw that shit. Not that I cared though – to each their own. I bet Miss Pillsbury was a freak in the sack. Its always the quiet ones. I know Mr. Schu is married, but who could blame him for wanting someone besides his pill pushing wife.

I had picked a song by Kid Rock because he was a bad ass (like me). I ran through the song a couple of times, but something didn't feel right. I wanted to convey a message with my song like Rachel had done in her video. I picked up my mp3 player and started scrolling through the music to see if I could find any inspiration. The second song I came to caught my attention. It was perfect and I even knew how to play it on the guitar. Now that I was content with my song choice, I decided to take it one step further. I rifled through the top drawer of my desk until I found the phone list for the football team. My finger scanned down the page until I found the number I was looking for.

I dialed the number and waited for only two rings before a chipper voice answered, "Talk to me."

"Kurt?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Noah."

"I'm sorry I don't know any Noahs."

Shit. I had said Noah. Why had I done that? Oh yeah, Rachel had called me Noah all afternoon. Funny I didn't notice it at the time. "Uh, I mean Puck."

"Oh, sorry. I guess I never knew your first name."

"No big deal, listen, can I ask a favor?"

"Depends." Kurt's voice was cautious.

"Fair enough." I didn't blame him for not trusting me. "Can I get the phone numbers for Tina, Brittany and Mercedes?" They were the other three scheduled to sing their solos tomorrow.

There was a long pause. "Sure, I guess. Keep in mind though that I am only doing this because you were nice to Rachel today." Kurt gave me the numbers. I tried to get off the phone with him before he could get too chatty, but he snuck in a question before I could say my good-bye. "So how was Rachel?"

"What do you mean by that?" I snapped at him. What was he trying to imply? Other than carrying her, I hadn't touched her. I mean I kind of wanted to touch her more, but that was just normal for a teenage guy being in close proximity to a hot girl right?

"Uh, how was Rachel? Was she really upset?" He spoke very slowly as if I was mentally challenged or Finn.

"Oh, um, she's fine. I have to go." I hung up before he could ask me anything else.

I started with my phone calls to Tina, Brittany and Mercedes. It took some creative bargaining on my part, but they all came around to my way of thinking. I couldn't wait until Glee practice tomorrow.

***RPOV***

I followed Kurt's advice and put on the performance of my life. I acted as if nothing was wrong and went about my day as usual, as if yesterday had never happened. The only times I came close to faltering were the times I passed Finn in the halls. My chest would start to ache when I saw him. It hurt so bad. I stayed in my role though. The performance of the simpletons at this school were predictable. They started, they pointed, they laughed, and the occasional person would sneer an insult at me. It was hard. I don't know if I would've been able to do it though if it hadn't been for my friends. I was never alone walking between classes.

I was back in the same spot as yesterday – getting ready for sixth period. Twenty-four hours since the "incident." I opened my locker to exchange my books and found five pixie stix tied together with wrapping ribbon. Was I at the right locker? I glanced at the number on the outside of the locker to be sure. Sure enough, I was at the correct locker. One of the ends of the ribbon was threaded through a piece of notebook paper. I turned the paper over and found the following note written in a rough, masculine penmanship:

_Rachel,_

_Thought you might need a little pick me up so I procured some pixie speed for you. I'm delivering it this way because I don't know how open you want to be with our friendship. I've arranged a show of solidarity for you in Glee today. I hope you like the songs. Just remember how mand of us are here for you._

_Noah_

I was shocked by this letter. First, he had referred to our friendship. Were we friends? Did I want to be his friend? Second, he had arranged something for me? Third, he had signed the note as Noah, not Puck. He was still letting me see past his shield. I floated to sixth period and was present in body only during it. My mind was racing. This had been an unbelievable twenty-four hours. Before I knew it, the regular school day was over and I was on my way to Glee. Kurt met me halfway there and linked his arm with mine.

This rehearsal would be the first time I would see Finn and Quinn together since yesterday. Thank God today was Friday so I wouldn't have to face them again until Monday. I could make it through one more hour. I took a seat on the south side of the room – the opposite from the gruesome twosome. Kurt sat next to me with Tina, Mercedes and Artie next to him.

Mr. Schu walked in with Miss Pillsbury. "Okay guys, let's get started. I can't wait to hear what you have prepared." He started examining some paperwork. "Let's see, today we have Tina, Puck, Brittany and Mercedes. I hope you guys don't mind but Emma – I mean Miss Pillsbury – is here to observe today and help me choose our songs." Normally I would've lodged an objection given Miss Pillsbury's lack of musical expertise, but I was too curious to see what Noah's surprise would be to speak up. Mr. Schu drew names out of a hat to see who would go first. Brittany's name was luck number one.

Brittany walked to the front of the room twirling her ponytail. "Okay, I picked a song by Kellie Pickler – its called 'The Best Days of Your Life' – so okay, here goes." I was unfamiliar with the song.

"Country. She was on American Idol," Kurt whispered to me.

Brittany started singing. I was blown away by how strong her voice was. She needed to showcase her talent more often. As I started listening to the lyrics, I smiled to myself. The song was a diss on a guy who broke a girl's heart. I stole a glance at Noah, but he stared straight ahead. I could just barely make out that the corner of his mouth was turned up in a smirk. Brittany finished and everyone clapped. Mr. Schu pulled the next name. "Okay, Brittany, excellent job. Tina, you're up next."

"H-h-hi. I'll be s-s-singing 'Y-y-you P-pr-promised M-m-me' by Ingrid."

"Isn't that in French?" Miss Pillsbury asked.

"I-i-I'm s-s-singing the –E-en-english version." Tina started singing. The song was very pop and dancy. The accompanist was using the synthesizer so he could replicate the drum machine sound along with the melody. Listening to Tina's song I smiled a little more. This song was about a man not following through on his promises.

That sneaky sneak. How did he pick their songs? I needed to let him know I appreciated his gesture. I pulled out a pixie stick. When I tipped my head back, I caught Noah in my peripheral vision and his smirk changed into a smile, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

Kurt caught my attention. "What was that?"

I played dumb. "What was what?"

"Another great song. Thank you Tina. Let's see, Mercedes you're next."

Mercedes didn't bother to introduce her song. Once she was in front of the group she started belting out her tune.

_Am I supposed to put my life on hold  
Because you don't know how to act  
And you don't know where your life is going  
Am I supposed to be torn apart, broken hearted, in a corner crying?  
Pardon me if I don't show it  
I don't care if I never see you again  
I'll be alright  
Take this final piece of advice and get yourself together,  
But either way baby, I'm gone_

By this point even Finn had caught onto the theme of the songs. His face was beet red and Quinn looked like she could spit fire. I kept up my outwardly calm exterior, but on the inside I was starting to lose it again. I didn't know if I could make it through another song before I lost it. When Mercedes finished the room erupted into cheers (except for Finn and Quinn of course).

"That was awesome Mercedes! You can really sing!" Matt Rutherford was enthusiastically praising Mercedes. I took a deep breath and looked to Noah. I knew he was only trying to help me, but at the moment I was having trouble focusing on that.

"So Puck, what are you going to sing for us?" asked Mr. Schu.

"Um, yeah. I picked 'Silent Lucidity' by Queensryche and I'll be playing the guitar too." Noah sat down and just before he started singing he nodded at Kurt. What was that about? Before I could turn to look at Kurt he covertly slipped me a slip of paper. I turned it over and recognized Noah's scrawl.

_Stay calm. Don't let them get to you. I chose this song for you. I hope you like it._

"_No one is useless in the world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else." – Charles Dickens. _

_Thank you for giving me a purpose yesterday._

Kurt slipped his hand over mine and squeezed. Noah's guitar playing was superb and his voice was so smooth and peaceful. I could hear the emotion in his voice as he reached the chorus.

_I will be watching over you_

_I am gonna help you see it through_

_I will protect you in the night_

_I am smiling next to you_

_In Silent Lucidity_

I couldn't stop the tears. They began pouring down my face. Noah reached the end of his song and you could've heard a pin drop in the room. Mr. Schu came to life and practically started jumping out of his skin. He wanted to use Noah's song for Sectionals. Before I could let the sobs start wracking my body, I fled the room.

**Happy Halloween all! Sorry the update didn't happen sooner, but RL sucked hard this week. **

**True story – When I was in high school a very good looking boy sang "Silent Lucidity" to me. Everyone deserves a moment like that in their life so I shared it with Rachel. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know I said I would have this chapter up by 11/9, but obviously that didn't happen. I apologize for that.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. I love all of your comments, they make me smile like a goofball.**

**This chapter was difficult to write and I don't have a beta so please forgive any mistakes you see.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, Sonic, The Sandlot, or anything else you recognize in this little story.**

Chapter 3

***NPOV***

I arrived at school on Friday feeling more anxious than I had in a long time. Ever since my father had left, I had been determined to not let the opinions of others affect me. Today could be different though. Today the opinions of others had the potential of getting past my hard exterior. This was new territory for me.

I had committed the ultimate sin in the world of guy friendships. You never sleep with your best friend's girl. Last night I had been focused on Rachel. It was easy to distract myself from my own worries with helping her. Now, Rachel wasn't here and I didn't know what to expect when I walked into school. I could very well find myself with no friends left. I shrugged my shoulders though and decided "fuck it." It's not like I really cared what the losers at this school thought anyhow. In 10 years I probably wouldn't even remember half their names.

I made my way through the halls to my locker. It seemed like any other day. The same people as always greeted me and the same people as always scurried away from me in fear that I would choose them as my intended target on that day. Matt Rutherford was waiting at my locker. If I would have seen him sooner, I probably would've found a way to avoid him, but it was too late now.

"Hey Puck. How you doin' today?" Matt was upbeat as usual.

"Fine I guess." I all but grunted my response at him.

"So, did you hear about Finn and Rachel?"

"What about them?" Crap. Had something else happened since yesterday? It wasn't even 8:00 a.m. yet.

"Check this out, man." As he spoke Matt was rocking from his heels to his toes and back again like some weird jock rocking horse. "I saw everything – just before sixth period yesterday Finn told Rachel and anyone who would listen that he would never be with her and that he was with Quinn and that was it."

"Oh, yeah, um, I heard about that."

"Oh, well um, I wasn't sure you knew since you had that doctor's appointment yesterday."

Good thing he mentioned the doctor's appointment. I needed to remember to keep that façade up today. The only three people who knew the truth were Rachel, Kurt, and me. I'm pretty sure Rachel would like to keep it that way too. I could care less.

I started off in the direction of my first class. "See you later Matt."

"Later."

My first class was on the opposite side of the school from my locker. The entire walk from my locker to first period I could hear people talking about yesterday's incident. Any other day I would find a way to turn the object of the gossip's misfortune into an opportunity to torture that person. It was part of my modus operandi – keep the attention away from me and focus it on someone else, anyone else. Today was different (how many times can I say that today?) I didn't know if Rachel could survive if all of this negative attention was directed at her today. I know she always put up a strong front, but yesterday I saw that she was really quite fragile under it all. Besides, it wasn't like Rachel's public humiliation was the only gossip to break yesterday. Everyone had to have heard by now that I was the father of Quinn's baby, not Finn. Apparently that wasn't juicy enough to take the spotlight off of Rachel. Fucking idiots. They just love to kick people when they're down around here.

I suddenly had a need to see Rachel. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I turned and started jogging back to the student parking lot to wait for her. I would walk her to every class today if it meant all the vipers at this school would keep their fangs out of her. Just as I made it to the lot, Kurt's Navigator pulled into the lot. After a minute, Kurt and Rachel emerged from the vehicle and walked into the building together. Rachel's head was held high and she marched right past the huddled masses that were gathered waiting for the show. A smile found its way to my face. I knew she was just acting, but damn, I loved how she could give a performance like that and basically tell the whole school to fuck off. I caught Kurt's eye just before they entered the school. He nodded in my direction. Hmmm, wonder what that was about?

The school day crawled by. I couldn't focus on anything. I looked for Rachel between classes to make sure she was okay. She was always flanked by one of her friends from Glee Club. They were a loyal bunch, which is more than I can say for the majority of wannabes at this school. The kids here were quick to leave you to fend for yourself at the first sign of trouble. The Glee kids though, they stuck together no matter what. You had to admire that.

Rachel maintained her tough act throughout the day as well. The only times I saw her falter was when she would see Finn. It was probably not detectable to anyone else. Every time Rachel and Finn would cross paths in the hall, her stride would slow minutely, her normally tan skin would pale just slightly and I could see she would hold her breath until he was out of her sight. I don't know why all of a sudden I was a Rachel expert. It was kind of creepy.

I knew by the time sixth period rolled around she would need something to keep her going. I left campus at lunch and went to the Kwik-E-Mart to grab some snacks for myself. When I was there, I saw the perfect thing for Rachel. I grabbed the candy for her and took off back to school. When I was at her locker, I scribbled a note her, tied it up with some ribbon I found in the art room and put it in her locker. Lucky for me, I had the master key to all of the lockers in the school. Don't ask how or why – you won't like either answer.

Then there was Glee, I was nervous to see how Rachel would react to the song choices. I couldn't help but let a smile slip when she started eating the Pixie Stick during Tina's song. Then, it started heading south. During the third song I looked at Finn and Quinn to gauge their reaction and it was in two words – not good. Even that dumb ass Finn had figured out the theme of the songs. Shit. I hadn't meant to bring more heat on Rachel by my actions. I scribbled another note to her and included a quote I had found earlier in the day. Normally, I'm not into corny shit like that, but I knew Rachel would appreciate it and I wanted to cheer her up. I convinced Kurt to slip the note to Rachel when I gave him the signal and went up to sing my song.

I looked up at Rachel during the chorus and I could see the tears start streaming down her face. I had never been so thankful for Kurt before in my life. He was comforting her as he sat next to her. My song finished and the room was silent. I knew I had done a good job, why wasn't anyone saying anything? Then the room erupted, but I couldn't hear a word that was said. Rachel had fled from the room. I had to find her and make sure she was okay. I started in the direction of the door, but Kurt caught my attention and subtly signaled for me to stay put. He and Mercedes slipped out to find Rachel.

I just wanted to get out of here and find out if she was okay. I really wanted to see her, but I would settle for just getting an update from Kurt if she didn't want to see me. I was pretty sure she wasn't mad at me, but I wasn't 100% confident in that opinion. What if I had pissed her off? What if she thought I was making things worse instead of better.

My self-deprecating train of thought was cut short when Artie rolled up to me. "Stop."

"Stop what?" I was on the defensive.

"Stop beating yourself up. You just did a great thing for Rachel. She needed to know that all of us are standing behind her and having you of all people arrange that for her was just a little overwhelming."

"Ummm. . . ." I wasn't sure how I was supposed to respond to his little speech.

"She'll come around, you just have to give her time." After Artie finished saying this, Tina rolled him away. There was nothing left for me to do, but pack up my stuff and head out. I looked for Rachel as I walked through the school out to my truck. I didn't see her anywhere and Kurt's Navigator was no longer in the parking lot so I assumed he took her home. I let out a huge sigh, got into my truck and took off towards home.

***RPOV***

After I ran from the room, I went straight out to Kurt's vehicle. Kurt would know to find me here. I just wanted to get away from the school. I laughed wryly to myself. This was the second day in a row I was running away from my problems. Running away from problems was not typical Rachel Berry behavior. Typical Rachel Berry met her problems head on and didn't back down. I was tired of typical Rachel Berry though. I was on a roller coaster. I was rejected by Finn yesterday in front of an audience. Then, all of a sudden Noah is being nice to me and doing kind things for me (in front of an audience no less). I didn't know heads from tails at this point.

Kurt and Mercedes found me quickly. They didn't say anything as they each gave me a hug. Once again, Kurt had all of my stuff. He loaded it into the car. I got in the passenger seat as Kurt got behind the wheel.

"Where to cherie?"

"Home. I just want to go home." My voice was small. I had stopped crying, but I felt as if I would start again with even the slightest provocation.

The ride home was quick. As I slipped out of the car without a parting word to Kurt, he whispered to me, "Let him in."

I didn't acknowledge his words. I made it into my house and up to my room without my dads noticing anything was wrong. I really didn't want to post a performance tonight. I did it though. I knew that if I didn't do it I would regret it on Monday. I normally was on a bit of a high after I posted a video, but not tonight. Tonight there was too much on my mind.

My thoughts drifted to Noah's song for Glee Club. The lyrics were so touching and I knew he was sending me a message through the song. He had stared right at me as he sang the chorus. There were also the two notes he had given me today. Noah had been nothing but kind to me since this whole mess started. I knew from the conversations he and I had yesterday that he wasn't the person he tried to make everyone believe he was. There was more to Noah under the surface than anyone realized.

I went to my computer and looked up "Silent Lucidity" on Youtube. I needed to hear the song again. As the song played through my computer's speakers, I could see Noah in front of the Glee Club singing this song. My heart warmed again as it had during his performance.

My phone chirped to let me know I had a text message. It was from Kurt:

_**Stop brooding in your room. Go talk to him.**_

That was easy for Kurt to say. I know that Noah said he would help me, but he didn't know the whole story. I didn't know if he would stick around if he knew the whole truth. I hugged my arms around myself. How could I have been so stupid? The dam broke and the tears started again. I needed to get out of my house before my dads heard me sobbing and came to investigate. If they pressed, I would break and tell them everything. That was the last thing I wanted.

I quickly changed out of my school clothes into a pair of jeans and a plain white fitted t-shirt. I threw a lightweight jacket on over the shirt, grabbed my phone and crept downstairs. I didn't know how much longer I could keep my tears silent. My dads were in the living room watching TV. I grabbed the keys to Daddy's car and scribbled a note:

_Dad and Daddy:_

_Went out with some friends. I have my phone. Call me if you need me. _

_Rachel_

Once I made it to the end of the block, I realized that I again had no where to go. I stayed at the stop sign for a couple of minutes trying to determine somewhere I could be to go over everything running through my mind. There was no football game this weekend so I couldn't go there. I hate going to movies by myself so that was out. For some reason it didn't even feel right to go to Kurt's, Mercedes' or Tina's houses. I couldn't explain it, but I found myself being drawn back to Noah's house. I turned Daddy's car in the direction of Noah's house.

I willed myself to hold back my tears until I reached his place. Studies prove that driving when one is upset is dangerous. I didn't want to become a statistic tonight. I swallowed my emotions and kept driving towards the Puckermans' residence.

Like some cruel test, I had to pass by Finn's house to get to Noah's. I but my lip when a rogue tear slipped out. Not yet, not yet. I couldn't start crying yet.

I parked Daddy's car in Noah's driveway and made my way up to the porch. I range the bell and waited. Strong, even footsteps approached the door. When it opened, a woman about by height was on the other side. She appeared to be in her forties and had the same dark hair as Noah. This must be Mrs. Puckerman.

"Can I help you dear?" Her voice was kind and laced with concern. Perhaps I looked as bad as I felt.

"Yes ma'am, is Noah home?"

"He's in his room – follow me." She didn't ask any questions, like who I was or what I needed. I found this odd. I followed her back to Noah's room. I didn't let on that I already knew where it was. I didn't want to have that conversation right now.

Noah's door was shut. Mrs. Puckerman knocked softly. "Honey, you have a guest."

"Tell them to go away. I don't want to see anyone right now." Noah's voice dripped with annoyance.

"She's right here. You can tell her yourself." Mrs. Puckerman's voice had changed from soft and sweet to commanding when she addressed Noah. She then turned to me, "I'm sorry dear. I don't know where his manners are."

Just then Noah's door opened. He saw me standing behind his mom. "Rachel, what are you doing here? Are you okay?"

Mrs. Puckerman turned to leave. I waited for her to walk away before I spoke. I didn't trust my voice. "Can we talk?"

Noah reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into his room and shutting the door.

"I want to say thank you for everything today. That was really sweet of you."

"No problem. I was kind of worried about you after Glee today." My tears had started about halfway through my thank you and by the time he finished speaking I was full out sobbing. You would think I would be out of tears by now.

Noah didn't say a word. He just pulled me onto his bed with him. He positioned us so we were both sitting with our backs against the headboard and his arms were around me. One of his hands was softly rubbing my back and he tucked my head under his chin.

"Just let it out Rachel. You need to let all of this out." Noah didn't say anything else as he let me cry. I cried for at least twenty minutes before I was able to calm down.

"Here, take a sip." Noah handed me a bottle of water. The water felt so good as it went down my raw throat. "Rachel, tell me what's wrong. Is it something I did?"

"No." My response was accompanied by one of those gulping snort things that happen after a hard cry. Great, as if I needed further embarrassment. To his credit, Noah acted as if the noise never happened.

"Then what is it Rachel? Is it Finn?" Once Finn's name passed Noah's lips, I started to cry again - at least this time I wasn't sobbing.

I was waging an internal battle. Noah had stated he was here for me in two notes and in his Glee song, but he didn't know the whole story. Nobody knew the whole story. Could I trust him? Could I tell him everything and risk losing him?

In the span of just over twenty-four hours, Noah Puckerman had gone from Puck to Noah. Yesterday before sixth period I had viewed him as my tormentor, a bully, and a jerk. Today, I only saw the good things in him. I don't have an explanation for it, but the bad deeds of the past were wiped away. I didn't care anymore about what used to be. I could be myself around Noah and I desperately needed that. If he rejected me now, that would hurt more than any prank he had ever pulled on me before.

"I feel so stupid. I can't believe I thought someone like Finn could like me." My voice was soft and subdued.

Noah was still holding me. I felt safe in his arms. "Rachel, you are probably the least stupid person I know. Stop beating yourself up. None of this is your fault."

"Still, I should've known better than to think I would ever have a chance with him."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess," I said as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Why did you think you had a chance with Finn when he was with Quinn?"

I pulled away from Noah and started to stand up. My body was already feeling off being separate from his. "I knew it was a mistake to trust you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You just had to rub it in, didn't you?"

"Seriously – what in the hell are you talking about?"

Mocking his voice, I spat back at him, "Why did you think you had a chance with Finn?"

"Jesus Rachel. I wasn't trying to upset you. I only wondered if he had said or done anything to make you believe that you stood a chance."

I instantly felt ashamed. Noah was only trying to talk things through with me and I jumped to conclusions and accused him of being unkind. "I'm sorry Noah."

"Don't worry about it. Come sit next to me again," he said as he patted the bed.

I sat back on the bed and scooted up next to him. We fell back into the same position and a sense of relief swept over me. I just sat there not saying anything for awhile enjoying the feel of his hand making circles on my back and his warm breath on the top of my head.

Noah was the first to break the silence. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Oh, um, yeah, Finn kept telling me things like he wanted to leave Quinn or that he really cared about me. You know, stuff like that. I thought it was taking him awhile to leave Quinn because of the baby and I understood that."

"So he would just tell you this stuff? Didn't you wonder why he never kissed you or anything like that?"

Noah's words were hard to take. If he didn't know about what was going on between Finn and I, then I truly was Finn's dirty little secret. "No, we kissed – a lot. He was always sneaking kisses with me or taking me on little outings, but I guess he made sure no one ever knew about that."

"Rachel, how long has this been going on?"

"Since Finn joined Glee." Just then my stomach growled loudly. I hadn't eaten since lunch (with the exception of the Pixie Stick) and even then I had only picked at my food. My appetite was gone knowing that the entire cafeteria was staring at me.

"Okay, here's another question for you – when was the last time you ate?" Noah had a smirk on his face.

"Lunch."

Noah stood up and walked to his door. I was still sitting on his bed trying to figure out what he was doing now. He turned to me, "Come on, get up."

"Excuse me? What?" I was having a hard time with the rapid subject change.

"I'm hungry, you're obviously very hungry – we're going out." He went on before I could interrupt him. "Don't argue. If you want, I'll find someplace where no one knows us. I just want to get food."

I followed Noah out to his truck. He raised an eyebrow at Daddy's car, but didn't say anything. He opened my door for me and after he was sure I was in, shut it before jogging around to his side. Once he was in the cab, he started the truck and backed into the street.

"You don't have to worry about where we go. I'm not worried about anyone seeing me with you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I don't care if people know we're friends and frankly, its not going to change how much they talk about me." It was the truth. Kurt had been right this morning when he spoke it.

"Okay, well how about burgers and fries? We could hit Sonic."

Noah Puckerman managed to find my greatest weakness without even trying. A huge smile found its way to my face. "I adore Sonic. It's the one guilty please I afford myself."

"Only one?" Noah looked at me and he was grinning that sinful half-smile that made all the girls at school drool.

We fell into easy conversation as he drove the rest of the way to Sonic. Nothing of any consequence was discussed, but it was the easy back and forth of two people who were comfortable together. He pulled into the parking lot and picked one of the end slots to park his truck.

"What will it be?" His tone was playful. "Let me guess – a grilled chicken wrap with a diet soda, no fries?"

"How about I order for myself?"

"Suit yourself." Noah pushed the button and placed his order.

Once he was finished placing his order, the voice at the other end asked, "Anything else?"

I leaned across Noah to place my order, "I'll have the foot long chili cheese dog combo with tatertots and a chocolate milkshake instead of the soda."

"Well, I am surprised. I never would've guessed that you would order something like that."

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

"For now, but I plan to change that." If his voice hadn't been so serious, I probably wouldn't have believed him.

The food arrived quickly and I began devouring my chili dog. I was more hungry than I thought.

"Easy there, Killer. You really like that hot dog, huh?" he teased me.

"Well, I always love a good foot long." As soon as the words were out of my mouth I realized how they sounded. Unfortunately, Noah did too. He had been taking a rather large drink of his soda and my verbal slip caused him to spray the soda in his mouth against the windshield of his truck.

"Jesus, Rachel. I can't believe you just said that!"

"Noah! You know that is not how meant that!" My voice was frantic. I wanted him to understand that it was intended to be an innocent comment.

Noah grabbed a bottle of window cleaner from under the seat and the napkins from the Sonic bag and began cleaning his window. He was laughing though as he did it. "You're killing me Smalls."

"I hardly think a dig on my short stature is warranted." I was beginning to become slightly irritated.

"I'm not calling you small. Its from 'The Sandlot'."

"What is that?"

"Are you serious? Its only one of the greatest movies ever made. Don't tell me you've never seen it!" His voice was raised and he was looking at me like I was from Mars.

"No, I've never seen that movie. Not to change the subject, but why do you carry window cleaner in your truck?"

"You've seen how I keep my house. I treat my truck with the same respect. I keep this in here in case of emergencies such as this." When he was finished cleaning the window he turned to me, "If you and I are going to be friends, you will have to see that movie at some point."

"I guess I can agree to that. You did sit through my movie. Turnabout is fair play." I finished my meal and sat there waiting for Noah to finish.

"Noah, do you think I'm pretty?" My question caught him off guard. The handful of fries froze halfway to his open mouth. I stumbled to recover, "Its just a question, I don't mean anything by it." I took a deep breath. "I guess I'm just wondering if you think I'll ever have a shot with any of the guys at your school."

Noah relaxed after my explanation. "You are very pretty Rachel. The guys at our school are just intimidated by you because you're so smart and pretty and focused on your dream of becoming a star."

"So, I should change who I am so guys will like me? Is that what you are trying to say?" Maybe I should tone it down. I could pretend to be one of those ditsy girls at school that got the guys' attention.

"Don't even talk like that. The guys at our school are idiots and if they can't see how great you are, then they aren't worth it. Don't change, especially not for some high school guys."

I let Noah's words sink in as we drove back to his house. When we got back to his house, I hopped out of his truck and started walking over to Daddy's car. "Thanks for everything Noah. You've been a really great friend to me."

"Where are you going?" Noah was standing on his porch staring down at me.

"Home?"

"Don't leave yet. Come in for awhile. Its only 8:00." He had a point. If I came home now my dads would be full of questions. It was too soon to come home after "going out with friends" on a Friday night.

Once we were in Noah's room again, I made myself comfy on his double bed. He was searching through some DVDs on the small TV stand in his room. He kept rummaging around mumbling to himself. "Aha! Here it is. I knew this fucker was here somewhere."

"What did you find?"

He held up the DVD case to show me the movie – it was "The Sandlot." I should've known. "You are watching this tonight."

I shrugged my shoulders. I truly didn't care. He popped the movie in and settled next to me on his bed. Just before the movie started, Noah hit pause.

"Rachel, I know you're still upset about Finn. I understand that he led you on and that your feelings are hurt because you believed him. Look at it this way though, at least things ended before you ended up sleeping with him or some shit like that."

My heart stopped. I could feel all of the color drain from my face. There was no way I could lie about this and have Noah believe me.

"Rachel?" I still couldn't answer him. "Rachel? You didn't sleep with him did you?"

All I could do was lower my head as the tears of shame escaped my eyes. I was counting down the seconds in my head until he kicked me out of his room. He surely didn't want to be associated with this much drama. I had barely known Noah (vs. Puck) for a full day and now I was going to lose him. The seconds passed by and his room was silent.

Then, he did the most shocking thing. Instead of kicking me out, he drew me in. He reached out and pulled me into an embrace. After a short while, he tipped my chin up with his finger so I was looking into his eyes.

"Did you have sex with Finn?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

I knew I had to answer him. "Yes."

**A/N: Please leave a review. They really do make me write faster. I'll take suggestions and criticism as well as praise. Just let me know what you thought.**

**I know there's been a whole heap of tears in this little story so far, but I promise it will get better soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for your patience. I am hoping updates will be more frequent now as things are changing (for the better) and I should have more time to focus on this. Keep in mind though that the holiday season is starting so I can't promise anything.**

**Thank you to all you have read and reviewed this story and/or added it to your alerts. I appreciate all it. Last chapter I forgot to thank tlw 13 and SapphireEJ for their repeat reviews. Sorry I missed you last time. Following chapter 3, I need to thank cutie1 for your repeat review. I have tried to respond to all reviews, but if I missed any of you I apologize.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

Chapter 4

***NPOV***

I had only brought up the subject of sex with Finn as a way to comfort Rachel - the silver lining in the fucked up cloud that was hanging over her head right now. I didn't actually think for a second that it was a possibility that Rachel and Finn had slept together. I never thought she was the good-goody type, especially after her little speech at Celibacy Club about how girls wanted it as bad as guys, but I never thought that Rachel wouldn't have let it get that far that fast. I knew as soon as she couldn't answer me that I had been wrong – so very fucking wrong.

My heart broke when I looked at Rachel. She looked so ashamed. I couldn't let her feel that way. I pulled her close to me. I admit that by then asking her to say the truth out loud was a dick move when I had already figured it out. I don't know why I did that. I just held her until she stopped crying. I didn't know how much more I could see her suffer. Hell, I didn't know how much more she could take.

When Rachel calmed down she told me that she had slept with Finn last week. He had told her that if she came back to Glee he would find a way to be with her and leave Quinn. He had lied and manipulated her to get her into bed and she had believed all of the bullshit he had told her. She also admitted that she was afraid I would reject her now that I knew the whole truth. I assured her that I was still here for her and kissed the top of her head.

"Rachel, I know you might not believe me right now, but you have done nothing wrong. Finn took advantage of you."

She was still sniffling, "I know what you're saying is true, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. I feel so dirty and used – like a whore."

"Stop right there. You are not a whore…" she cut me off before I could continue.

"Noah, deep down I know that I am not a whore, but it still feels like I am. I went and just spread my legs for the first guy to pay any attention to me."

"Rachel, I hate to ask this and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but were you a virgin until you slept with Finn?"

"I don't really see how that is relevant." Her voice was starting to get louder. In a weird sort of way I felt relieved that she was getting angry. I knew if she became angry then there was a better chance of her not breaking under all of the stress.

"You're right. It doesn't matter. I'm sorry I asked."

Rachel had pulled away from my arms and was drinking from the bottle of water again. I watched as she took long drags from the bottle and how her throat worked as she swallowed the liquid. The skin on her face was red and blotchy from crying and her waterproof mascara had finally cracked under the pressure. She didn't have full blown raccoon eyes, but there were small black streaks on her cheeks. The front of my shirt was wet from her tears and I noticed that the reason for the lack of mascara on Rachel's face was due to the fact that it was on my shirt. I held my William McKinley High t-shirt out as I inspected the damage.

"Oh Noah, your shirt. I'm so sorry." Rachel gasped.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her. "It doesn't matter. I have a million of these from football and baseball." It was the truth too. I swear these things reproduced in the laundry.

I stood up from the bed and started peeling off my shirt. I had pulled it on in a hurry when my mom knocked on my door and told me I had a visitor and I hadn't had a chance to pull on a wifebeater at the same time. When my shirt was off, I threw it across the room into the dirty laundry as I grabbed a clean undershirt and t-shirt from my dresser. I turned my attention back to Rachel just before I pulled on the undershirt. She was frozen on the bed staring at me. When she caught me looking at her she started fumbling around.

"So, do you have a lot of homework this weekend Noah?"

I raised one eyebrow at her. "You want to talk about homework?"

"It's a legitimate question."

"Fine. I have some homework, but not too bad. You?"

"The same for me."

"Rachel?" I was now standing at the door to my room with one hand on the doorknob.

"Yes?" She was confused.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

I exited my room and made it to the kitchen to retrieve some snacks. I may have just had Sonic, but I'm a growing boy. I started the popcorn in the microwave and when I turned to the cupboard to grab glasses my mom was standing there with a knowing look on her face.

"You scared the crap out of me Mom!" She had not made a single sound as she entered the kitchen.

"Sorry about that." I could tell she had more to say. "Is that the girl from the video last night?"

"Yeah, that's Rachel Berry. We're just going to watch a movie together."

"That's fine honey. Is she okay?"

"Um, yeah, why do you ask?"

"She looked so sad when she got here."

"Yeah, she's sad, but she'll be okay." I pulled the popcorn from the microwave and poured it into a large bowl. I grabbed the sodas and started to leave the kitchen.

"Noah?"

I turned back to face my mom. "Yeah?"

"I still want to be formally introduced to her some day when she feels up to it." My mom had a caring smile on her face. I just nodded my head and went back to my bedroom.

Rachel was sitting on the edge of the bed inspecting her fingernails. "I'm surprised you're not snooping around my room. This would've been the perfect opportunity," I teased her.

"How do you know I haven't already done that? Perhaps you are just quite boring and it didn't take me very long to discover all of your secrets." Rachel's tone matched mine.

I set the snacks on the small table next to my bed and started pulling back the comforter on the top of my bed. "Take off your jacket and shoes and get in."

"Excuse me?" Her eyes were big and her voice was shaky as if she was nervous.

"Do you trust me?"

"Against my better judgment, yes." She had that defiant tone back in her voice again.

"Since yesterday, have I done anything to warrant you not trusting me?" I purposely left out the previous two years.

"No."

"Then take off your jacket and shoes and get in the bed." She still didn't move. I let out a sigh of frustration. "Rachel, I know there are a lot of rumors around school about how kinky and twisted I am, but seriously, what do you think I'm going to do to you with popcorn and soda when you're fully clothed?"

"You say that as if you know something you could do with the popcorn and soda in the event I was naked."

I started laughing. First the comment about the foot long and now asking me if I knew anything sexual we could do with popcorn and soda?! This girl was too much. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Rachel just narrowed her eyes at me as she unzipped and removed her jacket and kicked off her shoes. She climbed into my bed and looked up at me. "Now what?"

I sat down next to her and pulled the comforter back over us, set the popcorn between us, and handed her a soda. "Now we watch 'The Sandlot.' We never did get a chance to watch it and I told you before – if we are going to continue to be friends you have to watch this movie."

***RPOV***

The movie was cute and I couldn't help but notice how engrossed Noah was. It had me laughing and _almost_ took my mind off of the whole mess of the past two days. I have to admit that when Noah pulled me into his arms after I admitted to sleeping with Finn I cried not only out of shame, but also out of relief. Noah didn't push me away. He was my safety net right now and I felt like I could keep going knowing that he was still there for me. Despite all of the crying and emotional upheaval, today hadn't been as horrible as I imagined it would be. I have my friends from Glee – Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie to stand by me. I guess now I can include Noah in that group as well. I never in my wildest dreams believed that Noah Puckerman could be anything but a bully, but there was so much more to him than what showed on the surface.

Still full from our excursion to Sonic, I only picked at the popcorn. Our hands brushed each other's a couple of times when we would both grab for a handful of popcorn at the same time. Noah seemed unaffected when our hands would touch – as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I can't say the same for myself. Each time our hands touched, a little thrill would race through my body and cause my heart to race. I was both perplexed and frustrated at my reactions. How could the simple brush of a hand affect me so? I told myself it didn't matter and to forget all of it. I don't need the complication of becoming hopelessly infatuated with yet another unattainable guy. Had I learned nothing from what happened with Finn? I need to watch myself here.

Speaking of watching, I had been mesmerized earlier when Noah had taken off his soiled shirt. He was toned and fit with defined pecs and abs. His one nipple was pierced and the sight of this caused a spark of electricity to rush through my body. Even now, the mere memory of the piercing left me a little lightheaded. I was slightly embarrassed that Noah had caught me ogling him, but as per usual, he didn't make a big deal of it and I relaxed.

My ringtone for Kurt began sounding from my phone. It was "All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce. It was only fitting considering his infatuation with the song and dance from the video. I still can't believe he got the whole football team to perform that song during a game. I was going to ignore the call since Noah and I were still watching our movie, but Noah paused it before I could.

"Go ahead – answer it."

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll refill our drinks so you can have some privacy."

"Thank you." I felt bad for Noah to leave his own room and pause his movie, but it had been his suggestion not mine so he must have been okay with it."

"Hello Kurt," I said as I answered the phone. Noah was almost out the door when he heard me greet Kurt and he raised one eyebrow at me. I raised one in return at him and he just smiled and left the room shutting the door quietly.

"Well hello Rachel. How are you tonight?" Kurt's tone was sugary sweet. He was fishing for information again.

"I'm fine Kurt. Can I help you with something?" I didn't want to waste time beating around the bush.

"So where are you right now? Sitting at home singing sad Celine Dion songs into your hairbrush?"

"No." I figured I should keep my replies simple.

"No you're not at home or no you're not singing into a hairbrush?"

"Both."

"Both, huh? So where are you? Out with your dads? At Tina's?"

I debated whether I should lie to Kurt or not. It wasn't that I cared if anyone knew I was spending time with Noah, I just didn't have the energy required for _that_ conversation at the moment. Praying Kurt would forgive me for lying to him; I took a deep breath and said, "I'm at Tina's right now."

"You lying bitch!" Kurt's exclamation took me by surprise.

"Are you accusing me of lying Kurt? I resent your slander."

"Oh really? Well if you're at Tina's, let me say hi to her."

Crap! He had me there. What do I say now? "Umm, Tina's in the bathroom."

"Stop Rachel, just stop. Dishonesty is so not becoming of you. You're lying and you know how I know you're lying?"

"How is that Kurt?"

I could hear the phone being passed and then someone spoke, "H-h-hi Rachel." It was Tina.

I sighed, "Hi Tina – put Kurt back on the phone."

"Hello." Kurt's voice was triumphant.

"Hi Kurt. You win."

"So where are you?"

"I'm at Noah's."

"As in Puckerman? I knew it!" There was a commotion on the other end of the line. There were giggles and talking that I couldn't distinguish. Kurt came back on the line, "Are you behaving yourself Rachel?"

"Yes Kurt. Noah and I are just friends. Nothing exciting is happening over here." Noah chose that moment to return to his room. He smiled again and sat the drinks on the table by his bed. He motioned for me to give him the phone. I was silent as I held the phone out to him. What could he possibly want to say to Kurt?

"Hey Kurt? Yeah this is Puck. Listen, Rachel and I are kind of in the middle of something right now, can she call you back later?" I was waving my hands at him to stop. Kurt had the most active imagination of anyone I knew and he was an incurable gossip. Noah waved me off and turned his back to me as he continued his conversation, "Well, she might be a little tired by the time she leaves, but I'll tell her you want to talk to her. Okay, bye."

As soon as he hung up the phone, I yanked on his arm to make him face me. "Are you out of your mind? Why would you say that to Kurt?"

"Rachel. Calm down. Kurt isn't going to say anything."

"How can you be so sure?"

Noah just shrugged. "He's too afraid of me to spread any gossip that involves me."

Noah had a good point. Kurt may be a gossip, but I'd never once heard him say anything like that about Noah. "Fine. Let's just finish the movie."

It was mostly quiet after that. I left Noah's around 11:00 p.m. that day with his cell number programmed into my phone. He made me promise to call him if I needed him, no matter how late it was. I felt better knowing I wasn't alone.

The next morning my dads kept me busy running errands with them. They didn't ask me any questions about my time out last night, which was a relief. We were done with our running around by 2:00 p.m. I was eager to get started on my homework. I hated to spend all day Sunday working on my homework so my pattern is to have it done by Saturday night if feasible.

I finished my English homework and pulled out my Spanish book to start on Mr. Schu's assignments.

Just before I could crack open the book, my phone rang indicating I had a text message. It was from Noah. I smiled at the picture of him I had snapped last night when he gave me his number.

_**What are you doing?**_

_**Just working on my homework. U?**_

_**I am about to start my homework soon too.**_

As I finished reading his last text, I heard the doorbell ring at our house. I didn't think much of it and turned back to my homework. I wasn't expecting anyone. It was probably someone to visit one of my fathers.

"Rachel? Can you come down here please?" Daddy's voice called up the stairs to me. I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to go chat with any of their friends right now. I slowly made my way downstairs my thoughts still focused on Spanish verb conjugation.

I followed the voices into the kitchen. "Yes Daddy – you wanted to see. . ." The words died on my lips. Sitting there in my kitchen having a slice of pie with my dads was Noah.

"Rachel, why didn't you tell us you had a study session with Noah tonight?" Daddy asked me as Dad just sat there giving Noah the once over. I had never had boys (besides Kurt) over to my house before. This was new territory for my dads.

I looked over to Noah and he just smiled at me. "That's okay Mr. Berry. It must have just slipper her mind. Rachel is very busy after all. This pie is excellent by the way."

He won Dad over with that little remark. Dad loved to bake. "Thank you son. I made it myself. You can call me Mike."

Daddy chimed in, "Call me Dan. Mr. Berry is way too formal and stuffy."

"Mike and Dan. Got it." Noah finished his pie and stood up to take his plate to the sink. I think my dads fell in love with him right there. If they only knew the true Noah Puckerman. I chastised myself for that thought. I needed to stop thinking like that. Noah was changing for the better and I needed to forget the past.

I knew one thing for sure though; I needed to get Noah out of there fast before they started showing him baby pictures of me or something like that. "I'll just go get my stuff so we can go back to your place to study."

Noah's smiled and my dads shared a _look_. I turned and left the room before I could see anymore. I threw all my school stuff into my bag, grabbed my jacket and hurried back downstairs.

Once Noah and I were in his truck, I turned to him. "You could've just asked me to come over like a normal person."

"Yes, but you would have tried to come up with an excuse why you couldn't make it." He was right. My silence only confirmed this fact for him.

"My dads sure liked you. You're the first boy that has ever come to my house. I never knew how they would react to that situation."

"What can I say? I can charm them all – moms, gay dads, you name it." Noah was smirking as he said this.

"Ew, please don't. I really don't want to picture just how you charmed my dads. I've heard about your successful pool cleaning/cougar bait business."

Noah just laughed. When he was done laughing, he turned to me, "You've never had a boy come over to your house before?"

"Just Kurt."

"He doesn't count – he's practically a girl." I just rolled my eyes at Noah. We got to his house and went back to his room. The rest of the house was quiet.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked him.

"My mom is at work and my sister is at a sleepover." He sat down at his desk and started pulling his books out of his bag. "What do you have to work on?"

"Just Spanish and Civics."

Noah just nodded and turned to his desk to work. I made my way over to his bed and started in on my work as well.

After about ten minutes, Noah turned to me and said, "Rachel? It's too damn quiet in here. Will it bother you if I put on music while we study?"

"No, go ahead."

He started his music and went back to studying. I was surprised by the first song. It was "The Thrill is Gone" by B.B. King. I smiled to myself – who knew that Noah Puckerman would like music like this. Every day there was a different surprise from Noah. By the end of next week who knows what I would discover about him?

I continued with my homework. Each time the song would change, there was an anticipation of what the next song would be. I was discovering that Noah had very eclectic taste. We had heard blues, jazz, country, rock and rap.

I finished quickly with the rest of my homework and laid back on his bed. This was my third day in a row in his bed. I laughed to myself. Three days in a row in the infamous Puck's bed. Not that it was like _that_ – just the way it sounded was funny.

The song changed again. I listened to it for awhile. I had never heard it before. I liked it. I turned my head towards Noah to ask him about the song. He was staring at me. When he saw that I was looking at him he just raised his eyebrow.

"What song is this Noah?"

"I can't believe you've never heard this song. Have you been living under a rock? I mean its old, but they still play it a lot on the radio."

"I usually only listen to the top 40 station here in town or CDs of show tunes."

Noah came over and laid beside me on the bed. "Looks like you have a lot of studying to do."

"No. I'm done with my homework."

He smirked at me, "No Rachel, I mean music. We are going to lay here and listen to my music and you have to tell me the name or artist of each song. You need to expand your boundaries. You might be surprised by what you like if you give it a chance."

"Okay." My voice was hesitant and I drew out my answer.

"This song, since you don't know, is 'No Rain' by Blind Melon. Let's see how you do on this next one."

We laid there listening to his music and I was frustrated at how few songs I was able to recognize. I pride myself on my musical knowledge. I also didn't want to admit it, but Noah was right about the songs. I was enjoying more of them than I thought I would.

"Okay, since your knowledge is so limited, I am going to give you a list of songs to listen to sometime over the next week and then let me know next Saturday which songs you liked and which you didn't. I'll give you a new list every Saturday. This way you expand your knowledge base. Deal?"

"Okay sure, deal."

The next song that came on took my breath away. "What song is this?" My voice was quiet.

"It's called 'Someday' and it's by Rob Thomas."

"I love it. The lyrics are so fitting."

Noah and I laid there on his bed in silence and listened to the rest of the song. As the last lyrics were sung, he linked his pinky finger with mine.

_Cause sometimes we don't really notice_

_Just how good it can get_

_So maybe we should start all over_

_Start all over again_

***NPOV***

I was so learning this song on the guitar. I had downloaded this song on a whim, not really caring too much for Rob Thomas. Rachel loved this song though. It had captured her heart and it was beautiful to see her start to come to life again.

Our study session lasted only a couple of hours and then I took her home with a promise to pick her up Monday before school. I didn't know what was going on between Rachel and I – I just knew I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her and being her chauffeur increased that time.

She was so sweet and innocent when you got past her barriers. I don't know how anyone could hurt her. I know I was in that group, but there is a world of difference between slushee facials and what Finn did. I wasn't exactly proud of my past behavior either.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. With each block that I drove from Rachel's house back to my own, I could feel my hands gripping the steering wheel tighter and tighter. I passed by Finn's house and the anger reached boiling point. I parked my truck in my driveway and slammed the door.

I took off on foot back in the direction of Finn's house. My mind was only focused on one thing – Finn Hudson was a dead man.

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Leave me a review if you liked it. Leave me a review if you didn't like it. You can even leave me a song suggestion in the review. **

**Songs for this chapter were – "The Thrill is Gone" by B.B. King; "No Rain" by Blind Melon and "Someday" by Rob Thomas.**

**Happy Thanksgiving to all.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the unreasonable length of time between updates. My husband and I are buying a house and that has taken up most of our energy lately, mix that together with the holidays and well, you get more than a month to post a new chapter.**

**Thank you to all that have taken the time to review. I have loved reading your thoughts. Thank you to Sapphire EJ and This Is for being repeat reviewers. (I apologize if I missed anyone). Thank you also to , alley83 and Ali Kriss for their song suggestions. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, it characters, any of the songs or groups mentioned in this story or anything else you might recognize.**

Chapter 5

***NPOV***

I continued my determined stride toward Finn's house. I cracked my knuckles and rolled my neck hearing a loud pop from it. I reached the front of Finn's driveway and realized I had no idea how I was going to get him outside. I couldn't very well ring the doorbell and ask his mom to see him so I could kick his ass. Just as I was about to turn back home and wait for another opportunity, the front door opened and Finn came out. He was carrying a garbage bag to place in the outside bins. This was perfect. The bins were on the side of the garage and Mrs. Hudson wouldn't be able to see us over there.

I approached Finn's back as he was dropping the bag of garbage into the bin. He had never heard me approach. "You are a piece of shit Hudson."

He spun around with a scowl on his face. "Me? I'm a piece of shit? Oh that's rich coming from you!"

"Oh get off your high horse. I may not be perfect, but what you did to Rachel was despicable." I spat the words at him.

"What are you talking about? So I embarrassed her in front of the school – why do you care?" Finn's tone was suspicious.

"I don't mean that. I AM upset that you did that, but do you really think I would be here to confront you about simply embarrassing her?" I watched as he slowly began to realize that I knew. God this guy was dense.

"She told you that we had sex?"

"Yes." The word came out as a hiss through my clenched teeth.

"So what? So I slept with her? You of all people are going to get on my case about a hit and run? You heard her little speech at Celibacy Club and she was throwing herself at me all the time! Are you forgetting that you knocked up Quinn? My girlfriend!!" Anger was flashing in Finn's eyes. Good, this fight was going to be more fun that way.

I stood there clenching and unclenching my fists, preparing myself for the inevitable throwing of punches that was sure to be coming. The rush of adrenaline through my system was strangely comforting. "I have never led a girl to believe that our encounters were anything other than what they were. If it was going to be casual, they knew. If it was going to be more long term, they knew. I would NEVER lie to a girl to get sex. Unlike you I don't need to stoop that low just to get laid."

"Oh, aren't you Prince Charming? What about Quinn?"

"What about her? She practically forced herself on me. I tried . . ." My words were cut off as Finn landed a punch square on my jaw. I stumbled back and shook my head to clear it. I pulled off my letterman's jacket and threw it to the side. My phone bounced out of the pocket of the jacket and onto the grass. Once my jacket was off, I ran at Finn – my shoulder catching him in his gut – knocking him down. I had him on the ground and I was straddling his chest as I rained down blows onto his face.

After a short while, Finn was able to roll out from under me. The loss of his body underneath me tumbled me onto my back. Finn was on top of me in a flash. I locked my arms around his and rolled us before he could get in a hit on me. I rolled us over so I was back on top. Finn drew back his head and slammed it into mine. Fucking A that hurt! I unhooked my arms from his and pushed away before he could try that again. He may not use his brain, but I preferred not to have brain damage. I stumbled to my feet. Finn was still on the ground. I aimed a swift kick at his ribs. I connected good and I heard a groan come from him. I pulled back my foot for a second kick, but before I could connect with his ribs again, he grabbed my leg and pulled me down.

We wrestled back and forth rolling around on the grass. I couldn't hear anything but the pounding of my pulse in my ears and the grunts and groans of Finn and me. We wrestled some more and I felt my elbow roll over my phone as we continued to punish each other. Finn and I were pretty evenly matched in strength, but I had the advantage of having been in more fights.

I let my anger over his treatment of Rachel guide my punches when I was able to get them in. I punched his face, his head, his gut – whatever I could touch. My knuckles had long ago numbed against the pain thanks to the adrenaline. I don't know when it happened, but sometime during the fight I allowed a new anger to infiltrate my thoughts. This was the prick that was helping Quinn to keep me from my child. My child. The new anger fueled my second wind as he and I continued to roll around on the side of his mother's house.

***RPOV***

When Noah dropped me off, I discovered my dads were gone for the night. There was a note on the refrigerator explaining they decided to visit my Uncle Ray in Columbus for the night and would return tomorrow evening.

There was nothing to do at home and I wasn't sleepy so I decided to start listening to Noah's list of songs. I pulled the list out of my bookbag and smiled at Noah's scrawl on the sheet of notebook paper.

_1. If You Only Knew by Shinedown_

_2. I'm Not Okay by My Chemical Romance_

_3. Medicine by Plies_

_4. London Calling by The Clash_

_5. The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore by James Morrison_

_6. Lullaby by The Cure_

_7. Love Hurts by Incubus_

_8. Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue_

_9. Super Massive Black Hole by Muse_

_10. I Touch Myself by The Divynls_

I fired up my computer and went to the internet to find the songs. I entered them all onto a playlist and then chose for them to play randomly. I started listening to the songs and was surprised at how many of them I actually did like. I had made my way through two of the songs on the list and started the third. I had honestly never heard of this song or the group. A quick internet search revealed the song was released two years before I was even born and that the group hadn't had many U.S. hits. The song was catchy. I listened to the lyrics and as I realized what the song was about, I felt my cheeks blush.

_I don't want anybody else_

_When I think about you_

_I touch myself_

Was Noah trying to tease me with a song? What was the meaning behind choosing this song? I huffed in frustration as I grabbed my cell and punched the buttons to call Noah. I was going to give him a piece of my mind! His phone rang about four times. Just great! I was probably going to get his voicemail. No matter, I would just leave a scathing message - either way he would know how I felt. The phone clicked as if someone had picked up the line, but no one was saying anything.

"Hello? Hello? Noah? Heelllloooo!"

I was getting ticked. Just as I was about to hang up, I heard a smack and then someone groan. What in the world? Then I heard Noah's voice. It was strained as if he were exerting himself.

"This is for Rachel you son of a bitch." SMACK! "This is for my baby!" SMACK!

There was some more grunting and then Finn's voice rang out. "Fuck you!" SMACK!

My stomach reeled as I realized what I was listening to. Noah and Finn were fighting. I didn't hesitate. I ran out the door and jumped into Daddy's car. I peeled out of my driveway and sped off in the direction of Finn and Noah's driveway. I had absolutely no idea what I would do when I got there, but all I knew was I needed to get to Noah. I had my phone on speaker and continued to listen to them struggle with each other as I drove. I broke all of the traffic laws without any regard for my own safety. I made it to their street in record time. I parked Daddy's car behind Noah's truck in his driveway and shot out of the car. I had turned it off, but hadn't pulled the keys from the ignition and I left the door hanging open. I didn't see Noah in his yard.

I took off running to Finn's house. As I got closer I could hear the strained voices of the two. At first, when I entered Finn's driveway I couldn't see them. I could hear them though and I followed their voices to the side of Finn's garage. They were rolling around on the grass and Noah's letterman jacket and phone were strewn carelessly beside the struggling pair.

Noah was on top of Finn and was punching his face. I carefully approached the pair. Noah drew his arm back again to deliver another punch to Finn. I didn't think about it – I just grabbed Noah's arm as it was in the upswing. As soon as I touched his arm, he froze and turned to look at me. Unfortunately, Finn took that moment to land a sucker punch on Finn's jaw.

"No more. That's enough." I hadn't raised my voice, but it was strong.

Noah's shoulders slumped. I could tell he was close to breaking. I didn't want to allow Finn the pleasure of seeing Noah lose it. Without saying another word, I slid my hand into Noah's and pulled on his arm so he would stand. I bent at the waist and grabbed his jacket and phone. I draped the jacket over my arm and slid his phone into my pocket. I pulled Noah closer to me and wrapped my arm around his waist and he draped his arm across my shoulders.

I led him back down his street to his driveway. Once we were on his property, I pulled the keys out of my car and shut the door and then turned to him. "I'm not leaving you tonight. I don't care what you say. Do you want to stay here or at my place?"

Noah reached for my hand again and led me into his house. I followed him to his room. He just stood there. He looked like a lost little boy. I gently guided him over to his bed and sat him on the edge of it. I dropped his jacket on the floor and turned on his music. I know how it comforted him and I wanted to do whatever I could to help him.

Once the music was on, I began to take inventory of his injuries. From what I saw of Finn, Noah had definitely come out on the better end of this fight. Finn had looked much worse than Noah. Noah had a black eye and his lip was split open. Blood was running down his chin from his lip. There was a scrape from the pavement of the driveway on his left cheek and there were bits of gravel stuck in that. The knuckles on both of his hands were split open and had started to swell.

"Noah, I will be right back." I assured him as I slipped out of his room and tried to quickly find a bathroom. I found it on the first try and grabbed a washcloth and two hand towels. I then made my way to the kitchen. I pulled some ice packs from the freezer and wrapped them in the hand towels. I wet the washcloth and hurried back to Noah's room and shut the door behind me as I entered it. Noah was in the exact some position as when I left him.

I gingerly eased his t-shirt over his head along with his undershirt and tossed it into the laundry hamper in the corner of his room. There were some light bruises on his chest and ribs. I gently cleaned the blood off his lip and the gravel out of his cheek. He did wince once when I pressed too hard, but that was his only reaction. Next, I cleaned the knuckles on both his hands. I placed one of his hands on the bed next to him and laid one of the ice packs covered in the towel on top of that hand. I then placed the other covered ice pack in his opposite hand and raised it to the side of his face that had the black eye and the split lip and instructed him to hold it in place.

I stepped over to the dresser and pulled out a clean t-shirt and undershirt for him from the drawers I saw him get into the other night. Folded next to his t-shirts were some sweatpants. I paused contemplating whether or not I should grab them as well. I turned back to look at Noah. His jeans had grass stains and some blood on them. He couldn't very well sleep in those. I grabbed the top pair of sweats out of the drawer and went back to where Noah was sitting on the bed.

I slipped the undershirt and the clean t-shirt over Noah's head. It was like dressing a child. I had to take his arms and pull them through the arm holes and then pull the t-shirt over his chest and stomach. I kneeled by his feet and slipped off his tennis shoes.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up at him and said, "Noah, I'm going to take off your jeans now." His body went rigid and he shook his head, but he didn't say anything. "Noah, we can both be mature about this. I'm just going to take them off and then slip on your sweatpants. You can't keep wearing these jeans. They have blood on them." He still didn't say anything, but he relaxed his posture.

My hands were shaking as I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down the zipper. I stepped back and placed my hands at the hem of his jeans and pulled them down. I kept my eyes on his ankles. Once the jeans were off his legs, I threw them in the hamper and quickly pulled the sweat pants up his bare legs.

I stepped around to the side of his bed and pulled back the comforter. Going back to Noah, I picked up the ice pack that was resting on his hand and pulled on that arm to get him to come around to the side of the bed and lay down. Once he was in place, I put the ice back on his hand and pulled the covers over him.

I made my way over to his desk to switch on the desk lamp. I turned back to his dresser and grabbed one of Noah's t-shirts and a pair of sweats for myself. I walked over to the door of his room and locked it. I had no idea how long his mom worked or how strict she was, but I didn't want to be surprised by her in the morning. I then turned off the light to his room and walked over to "my" side of the bed. Noah's head was turned away from me so I turned my back to him to change. I slipped his t-shirt over my head first and then slipped my arms out of my shirt and pulled it through the neck hole of his t-shirt and then pulled his shirt on the rest of the way. His t-shirt was huge on me and hung to my knees. I toed of my shoes and quickly slipped off my jeans and pulled on his sweats. Noah wouldn't have been able to see anything, but I was still a little nervous having basically just undressed in front of him.

I slid into bed next to him and carefully scooted up next to him. I put one arm around Noah's shoulders and pulled him in to me. That was when the dam finally burst. Noah clung to me as if he was drowning and I was a raft. The sobs broke out of him and shook his entire body. I held him tight, gently rubbing his back and rested my head on top of his. I let him cry and didn't say a word. I knew he would talk if he wanted to. The music continued in the background, but I could scarcely hear it over his crying. My heart ached for Noah.

When his crying had calmed, Noah choked out, "My baby. They're going to keep me from my baby."

"Shhh, Noah, listen to me. I promise you that we will find a way for you to be involved in your child's life."

"How?"

"I don't know right now Noah, but we will. Haven't you learned by now how determined I can be when I set my mind on something I want?"

Noah let out a small laugh. "True." He sat up then and reversed the roles by pulling me into his body. "Rachel. We sure are a fucked up pair aren't we?"

"We've just hit a rough patch. They won't keep us down."

Noah placed a soft kiss on my forehead. I didn't know what to make of that, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it. After all, I had just dressed him and dressed myself in front of him. One kiss surely wasn't cause for alarm.

A short while later, Noah's breath evened out and I could tell he was asleep. He was still holding me tight though so I stayed curled in next to him. I wanted nothing more than to drift off to sleep myself, but something was bouncing around in my mind, something from the fight I had heard over the phone. Noah was fighting Finn over more than just his baby. I had distinctly heard him say, "This is for Rachel!"

I couldn't help but feel remorse that Noah was hurt because of me. My problems were small compared to his. Yes, I had been manipulated by Finn, but I could've said no at any time and I hadn't. It wasn't as if Finn had forced himself on me. Noah wasn't being given a choice when it came to his child. I vowed to myself right then that I would stop dwelling on my problems and focus on helping Noah have access to his baby.

I shut my eyes and waited for sleep to claim me, confident in my decision to move past my own hurt to help my new friend. Sleep was elusive for me though and as I lay pinned to Noah's body I replayed all of the events of the past few days in my mind. It was then that I realized I had never answered Noah's question when he inquired whether Finn was the first guy I had slept with or not. I knew I could never face Noah and tell him the truth and if I did bring it up tomorrow, it would possibly set him off again and be counterproductive to my goal of focusing solely on Noah's unborn child.

As I lay there against Noah's chest, I whispered into the darkness of his room, "Yes, Noah. I was a virgin until I slept with Finn." My mind now unburdened with my last secret, I then drifted off to sleep.

***NPOV***

I woke in the morning from the best night's sleep I had experienced in as long as I could remember. Rachel was still curled up next to me. Her mouth hung slightly open and I smiled as I brushed the hair off her face.

Rachel had been my saving grace last night. I don't know how far I would've gone, how badly I would've hurt Finn if she wouldn't have shown up. She took one look at me last night and didn't judge me. She looked past my anger and saw the hurt inside me and took me home so I could break down in private. She had tenderly cleaned my wounds and cared for me. She had dressed me like a baby when I was unable to do it myself. In the morning light, I couldn't even bring myself to be embarrassed for my actions or lack thereof last night. I feel completely safe and accepted with Rachel and I know in my heart that what happened here last night will never go beyond this room, much like her secrets have stayed within these walls.

She had also been brave enough to change her own clothes in front of me. I didn't see anything though. The lighting in the room had been dim, her back was to me and she did that sneaky girl thing where they change their clothes without ever really showing anything. I had caught a millisecond glimpse of her panties though. They are white cotton string bikinis with the word "Pink" on the ass. They were from Victoria's Secret. What? I know my women's underwear. It's a gift – what can I say?

I had fallen asleep after crying in her arms, but awoke for a short while about an hour or so later. I had heard Rachel's confession when she thought I was asleep. It made me sick to my stomach to think that something that should have been so special for her will forever be tarnished with the memory of being used by Finn. I couldn't do anything about it though. I couldn't let on that I knew. She had only spoken when she thought I couldn't hear her and I was going to respect her need to keep that detail private. It truly didn't matter anyhow. It didn't change anything I felt about her.

I looked at her as she continued to sleep and I marveled at how far we had come in the past few days. Without a doubt Rachel Berry was my anchor now and I could only hope I was hers. It was beyond surprising how fast things had changed between us, but I didn't dwell on that fact. I wish we had only been able to be closer sooner. Maybe the shitty events of the past week were the catalyst we needed to find each other.

Rachel started to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at me. I couldn't stop myself. I drew her close to me kissed her on the lips. She kissed me back tentatively at first and then with more passion.

After a little bit she pulled away and looked up at me. "What are we doing?"

"I'm sorry Rachel. I don't mean to be pressuring you." I felt horrible. She was fresh off of being used by Finn and here I was acting no better than him.

"You're not pressuring me Noah. I was just surprised and I don't know if I'm ready to take things to that level yet."

I had to lighten the mood a little bit. "Says the woman who undressed me yesterday and then proceeded to strip in front of me." I could barely hide the smile on my face.

"That wasn't the same. You were practically catatonic!" She was getting flustered.

"Relax, Rachel. I was only teasing you." I leaned forward and placed a chase kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for taking care of me last night."

"Don't worry about it. You took care of me the other day. It's the least I could do for you." Rachel was smiling at me again.

"What made you come looking for me?" She had appeared last night like an angel without any explanation.

"I called your phone and you must have accidentally rolled over it when you were wrestling with Finn and answered my call unknowingly."

"You called me? Was something wrong?"

"Um, no nothing was wrong. I was calling you to chastise you for one of your song choices for my list."

I mulled over the song choices I had written on the list for her yesterday. What could have been so provocative to make her call me? "Which song was that?"

Her response was little more than a whisper. "The song about self-exploration – you know 'When I think about you I touch myself'. . ." she sang the chorus of the song to me.

"What's so bad about that song? It's something everyone does."

"You're a little self-assured aren't you?"

My face was blank as I stared back at her. What was she talking about?

"You really think everyone thinks about you when they touch themselves?" Her eyes twinkled as she teased me.

"I like to think so." I raised my eyebrow at her and smirked. "Wait, are you telling me you don't think of me when you do that?"

"Noah, honestly, even if I did do that do you think I would tell you details about it?"

I really wanted to explore this conversation with her further, but I rolled over and looked at the clock on my night stand. It was 8:33 a.m. My mom was already home from work. "Um Rachel, how did you get here last night?"

"I drove Daddy's car. Why?"

"Where is it parked right now?" I had a feeling as to what her answer was going to be.

"In your driveway, behind your truck." She said with a confused look on her face.

"That just means my mom knows you're here and since she obviously didn't see you in the rest of the house, she knows you're in my room with me."

Rachel's eyes went wide with horror. "Oh shit." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Take it easy. She might be mad at first, but she trusts me. It's not like anything happened in here that we would need to hide. I'll just go out there and tell her the truth."

"I'm coming with you." Rachel was right behind me as I stood at the door.

"Um, you might want to change back into your own clothes. It will be kind of difficult to convince her that last night was completely innocent if you're wearing my clothes. That makes it look like we spent all night. . ." Her hand clamped over my mouth before I could finish my sentence. I smiled under her fingers.

"Don't finish that thought. Just go talk to your mom. I'll be there ASAP."

"Before I go though, where do Dan and Mike think you are?"

"They think I'm at home. They went to visit my uncle and won't be back until later tonight. Now, go talk to your mom."

I unlocked the door and stepped out of my room and made my way to the kitchen. I knew my mom would be in there nursing a cup of coffee while she waited for me to emerge from my room.

I entered the kitchen and crossed the room to kiss my mom's cheek before sitting next to her at the table.

"Explain Noah. I know that is Rachel's car in the driveway." My mom's voice was strained. I could tell she was trying not to yell at me.

I calmly replied, "It is her car Mom. She spent the night here."

"Where? Please don't tell me you two slept together!" My mom was quickly losing her battle with staying cool and collected.

"We did sleep together Mom, but we only slept. Nothing else happened." I looked her straight in the eyes as I told her this.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect anything, but it is the truth. Mom, I had a really bad time last night and Rachel was there for me."

It wasn't until I said these words that my mom noticed the state of my face. "Noah Aaron Puckerman – what happened to your face?"

"I was in a fight."

"I can see that. Who did this to you?" My mom's nurse training was kicking in as she stood next to me and examined my face.

"Finn."

"Finn?" My mom's voice was incredulous. "Your best friend? Why would Finn do this?"

Before I could reply, I heard Rachel's voice from behind me answering my mom's question. "He was defending my honor Mrs. Puckerman." Rachel walked confidently towards my mom with her head high and her hand in front of her. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself Friday night. I'm Rachel Berry. I go to school with Noah."

"Hello Rachel. It's nice to meet you. Please call me Linda." My mom had calmed herself again now that Rachel was in the room. "Can you explain what you mean that my son was defending your honor?"

"Mom, I don't think Rachel needs to tell you any of the details. That's private."

Rachel sat next to me and squeezed my hand. "Don't worry Noah. I don't mind telling her if it means she understands why you fought yesterday and why I stayed here with you." My heart clenched. I wasn't ready for my mom to know that I had knocked up Quinn. I couldn't break her heart like that just yet. Not until I knew if I could even be around my son or daughter yet. Rachel must have seen the panic in my eyes because she leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I won't tell your secret."

Rachel then turned her attention back to my mom. "Linda, Finn Hudson lied to me and made me believe that if I was intimate with him he would leave Quinn for me. I believed him and then he humiliated me in front of the entire school. I've been obviously very upset about that and Noah has been helping me through that which is why I have spent so much time here lately. Last night Noah confronted Finn about his treatment of me and it unfortunately escalated into a physical altercation." I internally rolled my eyes at Rachel's old lady vocabulary – "intimate with him" and "physical altercation." Sometimes I thought she was closer to 76 than 16.

Rachel continued with her explanation. "I didn't feel right leaving Noah when he was hurt. I wasn't sure if he had a concussion or serious injuries so I stayed with him in case he needed anything. I promise you that nothing untoward happened between Noah and me. I think it goes without saying that I'm not ready to take that step with anyone right now."

Then one of Rachel's nervous habits saved us both. With one simple movement, my mom softened and we were off the hook. Rachel reached for the silver necklace around her neck and moved the charm back and forth on the chain. It was a Star of David. I could barely contain my smile at my mother's obvious glee.

"Noah is all of this the truth?" My mom said as she refocused her attention on me.

"Yes."

"Alright, well you both seem to be being honest with me. In the future, I'd like to be advised if Rachel plans to stay here."

"Thank you for your understanding Linda. I promise you we will abide by your rules." Rachel said to my mom.

"Thanks Mom. Rachel and I will be going back to my room now – with the door open of course."

"Thank you for coming to talk to me and for being honest you two."

When Rachel and I got back to my room I told her that I wanted to take a shower and that I wouldn't take too long. Rachel assured me that she could keep herself entertained while I cleaned up.

***RPOV***

I decided to continue on the list of songs from Noah while he was in the shower. I figured he would have them on his mp3 player if they were songs he had recommended for me. Sure enough, they were there. I had to keep flipping through the songs to find each one, but they were there.

After about 5 minutes, I looked at his bed and the pile of clothes that I had borrowed from him last night on the floor. I couldn't leave Noah's room like this for him to clean up. I picked up the clothes and threw them in the hamper. Walking to "my" side of the bed I started to make it. I shook my head at the fact I was considering any part of Noah Puckerman's bed as "mine." I had been in his bed every night since Thursday. What a strange twist of circumstances this has been. The music changed to Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole." It was catchy and fun.

I danced my way over to Noah's side of the bed and swung my hips back and forth as I finished making the bed. I kept dancing and acting silly while the song continued to play. I raised my hands above my head and continued to swing my hips. I was lost in my own little world until I heard clapping behind me. I whirled around to see Noah standing in the door of his room smiling at me. His younger sister was peeking out from around him. She must have arrived home from her sleepover during my little spontaneous performance.

I walked over to Noah's sister to introduce myself. I might as well meet the whole family today. "Hi. My name is Rachel's. I'm Noah's friend. What is your name?"

"My name is Sarah," she said as she stepped from behind Noah.

"It's very nice to meet you Sarah. Would you like to dance with me?" The music was still playing and since they had already seen me make a fool of myself, I might as well continue. Sarah was shy at first, but I grabbed her hands and pulled her over to the open space in Noah's room and started dancing. She soon started dancing too. "Very good Sarah! You're a great dancer!" I encouraged her. Noah was still in the doorway smiling at the two crazy girls dancing in his room.

We danced until the end of the song and the music changed to a song I that had a strong female lead singer. I loved it! This was going to be my song for my daily video. I wanted to tape it and post it as soon as possible. "Noah, Sarah, would you two like to help me with something?"

"Me?" Sarah's voice was excited.

"Yes you! Tell me something, do you have any make-up?"

"Berry – she's just a little girl." Noah didn't sound happy. Figures he would be overprotective of his sister. He was probably terrified that she would meet a guy like him some day.

"Noah! I have make-up. Mom lets me play with it in my room. I just can't wear it outside of the house until I'm 13." Sarah's voice was exasperated and she rolled her eyes at me where Noah couldn't see.

I suppressed a giggle. "Okay, great. Go grab your make-up and bring it back here. You're going to be my assistant."

"Wow!" she exclaimed as she shot out of Noah's room.

"Rachel – what are you doing?" Noah was still standing in the door, but now his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Relax. The make-up is for me. I want to post my Myspace performance and I need some make-up for that." Noah visibly relaxed after he I informed him of my plans. One hour later I had memorized the lyrics and downloaded the instrumental version of the song from the internet. I had touched up my make-up using Sarah's supply and had found a black wifebeater tank of Noah's to wear with my jeans. I knotted the tank in the back so that it fit better and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. Noah had retrieved his mom's video camera and we were all set to begin taping.

Sarah sat on Noah's bed eager to watch me sing. Noah started the camera and then Sarah started the music.

_I was taught to never tell a lie  
To look you in the eye and tell it like it is  
Always thought that you would be the same  
It's such a shame that's not the way it is_

I was fooled by your innocence  
And my love for you was so intense  
With our connection only physical  
If it got me through the night  
Well that's a lie

Hey little liar I believed in you  
Hey little liar I believed in you  
Hey little liar I believed in you oh 

**A/N: The song is "Little Liar" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. **

**I promise from here on out the story won't be filled with so much angst. There will still be some, but things will be lighter. It's about time!**

**Don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts. I also take song suggestions and so far I am 3 for 3 with incorporating them into the story.**

**FYI – suggested the James Morrison song; alley 83 suggested the Shinedown song; and, Ali Kriss suggested the Motley Crue song.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for your patience. I'm sorry this has taken so long.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

Chapter 6

***RPOV***

The two weeks following Noah and Finn's fight flew by in a blur. Noah picked me up before school every day. It was nice to have the quiet time with him in the morning before the hectic school day would begin. We typically parted ways shortly after arriving on campus. Noah almost always had something to do for football before school. Sometimes when we parted, he would kiss my forehead and on other days it would be a simple shoulder bump or he would just squeeze my hand before he took off.

Neither one of us had initiated another kiss like the one we shared the morning after his fight with Finn. I had enjoyed that kiss with him, but I meant it when I said I wasn't ready to jump right into something new. Noah was respecting my wishes. He was winning me over though and sometimes I wished he would forget I had ever said that and just go ahead and kiss me already. I know that I could take the initiative and kiss him, but my past mistakes in that area had paralyzed me from doing so. I had been the primary aggressor with Finn in the beginning and look where that got me. I did not want a repeat of that debacle.

Every part of my being though told me that Noah was different from Finn. Noah wasn't ashamed to be seen with me in public and he didn't care if people thought we were dating or not. All he cared about was how I felt.

That first day back to school after filming "Little Liar" in his bedroom, there was a bit of gossip swirling around about Noah and me. It turns out people had recognized that I wasn't in my room and that I was definitely in a boy's room due to the posters and whatnot hanging on the walls. It didn't take long for a couple of the girls at the school to realize I was in Noah's room. After all, there had been enough of them to see the inside of it. I have to admit that I was a little appalled and also a little jealous at just how many girls had recognized the inside of Noah's bedroom, but I quickly squashed that feeling. After all, he and I were just friends and I had no claim on him.

Noah was worried that I would be upset with the rumors that were beginning to circulate, but I really wasn't and I told him so. I didn't care what people thought when it came to the two of us. He and I knew the truth and that was all that mattered. I wasn't about to justify my actions to the entire student body just to feed their morbid curiosity. I also wasn't going to hide my friendship with him. I was through with the sneaking around after Finn. From now on if someone was going to be my friend, they had to be my friend out in the open, not just behind closed doors. That was my favorite time with Noah though – when it was just the two of us and we could just spend time together without any distractions from other people.

The two of us usually spent a couple nights per week after Glee working on homework together and most every Saturday night. I didn't always spend the night at his house, but when I did we made sure to tell his mom and keep the door open. Ever since I was honest with Linda and told her everything that had happened with Finn, she was very understanding. My dads were surprisingly supportive of our friendship too.

I still hadn't devised a solution to get Noah time with his baby, but it was always there in my mind.

***NPOV***

Everyone knew Rachel and I were now friends. Some of them had to learn the hard way that she was now off limits for slushie facials and other types of teasing and ridicule. I set the record straight that first Monday back at school following my fight with Finn.

I had picked Rachel up and we drove to school together as planned. We had to separate at my truck though as I had a meeting for football and she wanted to find Kurt and spend some time with him. We had been holding hands the entire ride from her house to school and I have her hand one last squeeze before we got out of my truck and went our own ways. As I walked through the parking lot, I could feel the stares of the other students and could hear their muffled whispers as I passed. At the time, I didn't think too much of it. I just figured Finn had been telling everyone I attacked him.

I turned down the hall leading to the boy's locker room and saw my ex-girlfriend, Santana, leaning against the wall examining her nails. When the sound of my footfalls reached her ears, her head snapped up and her eyes narrowed. I groaned to myself – I did not need to deal with her crazy ass first thing.

"Puck – See any good performances lately?" Her tone was cold and unforgiving. "Perhaps something with a good song for Rachel to sing in Glee?"

I stopped in my tracks and just stared at her. What was she talking about? "Cut to the chase Santana."

"Why was Rachel in your room? What's going on with you two?"

"Stay out of it Santana. You dumped me – remember? This is none of your business." I had stepped up to her so her back was against the wall and I was looming over her.

"Oh I don't care about you, stupid." She spat back at me.

"Then what's your point? Why do you care?"

Santana let out a sigh. "Listen, you've done some pretty messed up things before, but this playing nice with Rachel has gone on long enough. Leave her alone – she doesn't need to be hurt anymore."

To say I was shocked by her words would've been a gross understatement. "I'm not playing at anything. Rachel is my friend now. I'm not going to hurt her."

Santana was silent as her eyes searched my face to determine my truthfulness. "That better be the truth Puck."

"It is. Why do you care?" This was a side of Santana I rarely ever saw when we were dating.

"I'm developing a soft spot for the Glee kids." I couldn't help but smile at her admission. "If you tell anyone, I'll just deny it."

"So you do have a heart? Did you pull it off the ice this morning?" I couldn't resist the sarcastic remark at her expense.

Her usual sneer returned to her face. "Knock it off fucker. I'm trying to be nice. You of all people should know that isn't something I do often. She turned to walk away from me, her pony tail bouncing back and forth as she retreated. She got about twenty feet from me and turned back to face me. "Just so you know, the whole school saw her video and thanks to you man-whore ways – most of the female population at school recognized your room. Everyone knows she was there and everyone is assuming you are just up to your normal routine." With that she turned the corner and left.

Before I could do anything else, Coach Tanaka stepped into the hallway and spotted me. "Puckerman! You're late – move it!"

I spent the whole meeting worried about Rachel and how she was handling the rumor mill. I couldn't concentrate on the new plays Coach was discussing. Just before Coach dismissed us, my phone beeped with a text message from Kurt. He was also at the meeting since he was our new kicker.

_**Stop worrying. I just got a text from Tina and Rachel is fine.**_

I looked up at Kurt and raised my chin in acknowledgment.

Later that day at lunch, I was running late. I had to stay behind in fourth period to finish a lab. When I got to the cafeteria, I spotted Rachel sitting with Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie. I got in line to grab a lunch and planned to join Rachel to eat. I had no desire to sit at my usual table with Finn and Quinn.

Once I had my food, I made my way over to join Rachel. As I approached, I heard Mercedes say, "No you did not just say that to Rachel!"

Standing next to their table was Sarah Smith. I had hooked up with her a few times and despite the fact that I had explicitly told her there would never be anything else between us, she persisted in chasing me.

"Really Rachel. This is a record even for Puck. He's never run away from any other girl so fast." Sarah's nasally voice was carrying throughout the gym and people at nearby tables were starting to pay attention to the unfolding drama before them.

"Sarah, I suggest you leave. I don't need to explain anything to you." Rachel replied.

Sarah let out a shrill laugh. "You are so pathetic Rachel."

I remained calm and collected as I said, "No Sarah – you're the pathetic one."

Sarah's head whipped around so fast I thought she might have given herself whiplash. Her eyes were wide with fear when she realized I had heard her. It was now silent in the cafeteria with the exception of Kurt saying, "Oh Liza, this is about to get really interesting."

"Sarah – what is your problem? Why are you harassing Rachel?" I demanded.

"I, um, well, um, I. . . ." she managed to stutter out.

"Let me guess – you saw the video of Rachel singing in my room and jumped to conclusions. News flash Sarah – not every girl at this school is as big of a whore as you are. You have no idea what you are talking about so I strongly suggest you shut your trap before it gets you into more trouble." There was an audible gasp in the cafeteria when I called Sarah a whore. I was just calling a spade a spade though. I didn't say anything else. I just sat down and began eating my lunch.

After that, Rachel and her friends started getting treated a little better at school. Sure, things weren't perfect, but at least they weren't treated like second-class citizens anymore.

So, here we were two weeks after the Glee rehearsal where I sang "Silent Lucidity." We had just finished running through "Defying Gravity" when Mr. Schu asked us to take a seat for announcements.

"Okay kids, listen up, I've decided that you need some more practice performing in front of an audience other than myself and Miss Pillsbury."

"So what do you suggest Mr. Schu?" Matt asked.

Mr. Schu got a big smile on his face and said, "Karaoke." Once he said this the room erupted. This was actually an activity we could all get behind. We were obviously all good singers and none of us minded showing that off in public. Those of us that had been "embarrassed" to be in Glee had gotten over that long ago. "Okay, okay, calm down. I will be drawing names out of a hat and grouping you into pairs. You will perform one song with your partner. The catch is one of the other partner groups will be choosing your song for you."

"But Mr. Schu, how can I perform my best when the people choosing my song have no idea what songs best highlight my abilities. Perhaps if we could have some time to consult with the other group choosing our song that would be best for everyone." Rachel was starting to get amped up. I didn't say anything. I just placed my hand on her shoulder and squeezed. When she looked up at me, I smiled and mouthed the word "relax" to her.

"I'm sorry Rachel, but I want to see how you will perform with little notice of the song choice. I'm sure everyone will do great." After that Mr. Schu gave us the instructions for where and when to meet him tonight and picked the partners for karaoke. The groups were:

~Brittany and Artie

~Santana and Tina (Tina looked slightly terrified when Mr. Schu announced this pair.)

~Kurt and Finn

~Quinn and Mike

~Mercedes and Matt

~Me and Rachel

This was also the order in which we would be performing. Mr. Schu informed Rachel and me that we would be choosing the song for Brittany and Artie and to inform the DJ when we got to there of the selection. After that, Mr. Schu and Miss Pillsbury left the room.

Rachel took this opportunity to gather every one together. "Okay, everyone. I think it's only fair that if we have to sing tonight, than so does Mr. Schu."

Mike spoke up, "That seems fair."

"Yeah, but what song will we pick for him?" Santana asked.

"Leave that to me," I answered. Once that was decided, everyone started gathering their things to leave.

"I have the perfect song for Brittany and Artie to sing." Rachel was radiating enthusiasm.

"Great. Ready to go? We can hang out at my place until its time to meet up with the others." I wanted some alone time with Rachel to calm her down about her lack of control over what she would be performing.

"Sorry, no can do. She is coming with us." Kurt had swooped in and grabbed Rachel by the arm pulling her toward the exit where Artie, Tina and Mercedes were waiting. "You can see her tonight. Right now she is ours. Meet up with us at her house about a half hour before we have to meet Mr. Schu so we can all ride together."

Rachel shot me an apologetic look. I just shrugged my shoulders. "Fine, I'll see you all later." Rachel needed time with her other friends too. I had just enough time to run home, take a shower and change my clothes. I threw on a pair of jeans a snug-fitting black thermal shirt. I pulled on my motorcycle boots and left to go meet up with the others.

When I got to Rachel's house, her dad, Dan, answered the door. "Hi Noah. It's good to see you again. All of the other kids are up in Rachel's room getting ready. Go ahead and go up. You know where to go."

"Thanks Dan, but what about Artie? Is he up there?" I didn't want him to feel left out.

"Mike and I carried him up earlier, but I'll need your help to carry him down later. Mike had to leave for awhile. I'm afraid our house isn't very handicapped accessible."

"No problem. I can get him down on my own. It's easier than going up."

"Thanks Noah. I'm so glad Rachel has such a nice young man in her life."

I made my way upstairs to Rachel's room. Her door was half open and there was loud music coming from inside. I could hear their laughter drifting out of the room. When I reached Rachel's door, I pushed it open and just stood there and watched. Tina and Artie were in one corner dancing together. Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes all had their back to me as they sang and danced along to the music. Kurt was in the middle and Rachel and Mercedes were acting as his back-up singers.

I noticed Rachel was wearing a pair of low rise jeans that showed off her shapely lower half. When she turned to face me, I could see she was wearing a black fitted jacket type shirt. This was much better than her normal school attire of plaid skirts and sweater vests. She was gorgeous.

"Are you guys ready or what? We don't want to be late." I called from the doorway. They all grabbed their things and started to head toward the cars outside. After I had Artie safely down the stairs, I took Kurt aside to ask him a small favor and then did the same with Mercedes. I was glad they both agreed. By doing so, they were actually helping themselves too.

We all piled into Kurt's Navigator and took off for the bowling alley. It still boggled my mind sometimes how different my life was from two weeks ago. Here I was voluntarily riding to an after-school Glee event with Artie, Tina, Mercedes, Rachel, and Kurt – in Kurt's car no less. I never would've believed this to be possible before.

***RPOV***

We arrived at the bowling alley for karaoke and piled out of the Navigator. Mr. Schu and Miss Pillsbury arrived at the bowling alley shortly after everyone else. Something was definitely going on with those two, they were always together.

I made my way to the DJ to tell him what Artie and Brittany would be singing and then returned to my seat.

Mr. Schu then got up on the stage to announce the first pair. "Hello all. My name is Will Schuester and I am a teacher at William McKinley High here in Lima. I am also the advisor for the Glee Club, New Directions. The first six groups this evening are all members of New Directions. If you like what you hear tonight, we'd love to have you support us at our upcoming concerts. A schedule of those performances can be picked up from Emma over there if you are interested." When Miss Pillsbury's name was mentioned, she raised her hand to indicate her location.

"Okay, so without further adieu – our first group is Brittany and Artie. Their song tonight was picked by fellow New Directions members Noah and Rachel." As Noah was helping Artie onto the stage, Mr. Schu handed a piece of paper to them that contained their song selection.

The music began. I had decided on "Drive My Car" by Paul McCartney for them to sing. They did a great job with the song. I knew it would be an excellent selection for this pair. The non-Glee audience members were clapping their hands and seemed to be enjoying the show.

Santana and Tina were up next. They sang "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado. When their song was announced, Noah snorted next to me. I raised my eyebrow at him. He leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Santana thinks this is her theme song." The proximity of his lips to my ear caused a shiver to ripple through my body.

"Hmmm, well Quinn and Mike did choose their song. I'm sure Quinn just picked a song she knew Santana would like. It is a cute song though." Noah just rolled his eyes at me. I watched Tina and Santana sing and dance to the number. Tina seemed to be enjoying herself.

The third group was Kurt and Finn. Mercedes and Matt had picked their song. As the two guys made their way to the stage, I saw Mercedes and Matt give Noah a thumbs up.

"What's that all about?" I asked Noah.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. Shh, watch the show."

He was so up to something. I just narrowed my eyes at him, but I did turn to watch the performance. I couldn't wait to see Kurt sing. handed the guys their piece of paper that contained their song. Finn looked indifferent.

When Kurt saw the choice he declared, "I totally have this under control – bring it."

Their song was "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert. As the two guys sang, Kurt danced seductively around Finn. I'm not sure if Finn could've looked more uncomfortable with Kurt's dancing if he tried. Kurt was stealing the show though. The crowd was on their feet dancing with him. Kurt and Finn finished to loud cheers and catcalls. Noah even let out a wolf whistle.

"That was excellent guys" exclaimed Mr. Schu. "Let's see our next group is Quinn and Mike."

Quinn took the sheet of paper and then announced into the microphone, "Our song is 'Stop in the Name of Love' by The Supremes." Upon hearing this, Mike looked horrified. He sucked it up though and sang along with Quinn. He even ended up getting into the dance moves. He had everyone in stitches by the end of the song. Quinn didn't seem too pleased though that her performance was turned into a comedy number.

The fifth group was Mercedes and Matt. This time when they were walking to the stage, I saw Kurt give a discrete nod to Noah.

"Okay, something is definitely up. What have you done?" I asked Noah.

He continued to play dumb. "I still don't know what you mean."

"That is the second time tonight that someone has signalled you before a group goes on stage."

Noah leaned in close to whisper in my ear again. "I promise I will explain later." Again, a shiver went through my body when I felt his breath on my ear. This time Noah noticed and he smirked. Ugh, he knew he was wearing me down.

Mercedes introduced their song. "We will be singing 'Ain't Nobody' by Chaka Khan." Both Matt and Mercedes looked pleased with this choice. As always, Mercedes' strong, beautiful voice won over the crowd. Matt's voice complimented hers well. There was definitely a spark between those two.

Then they were finished and it was time for Noah and me to make our way to the stage. I glanced at Kurt and he nodded his head in encouragement. He had dressed me tonight and assured me that this outfit would "bring Noah to his knees." Noah had his back to me as he weaved through the tables up to the stage. I slipped off my jacket revealing a black, fitted tank top that closed in the front with snaps. Once my jacket was off, I followed Noah up to the stage to take our turn.

***NPOV***

I got to the stage before Rachel and when I turned back to see where she was, my jaw hit the ground. She had shed her jacket and was now in a sexy little tank top that accentuated her tiny waist and her not-so-tiny breasts.

Mr. Schu had the microphone again. "Okay, our final group this evening is Noah and Rachel. Their song was selected by Santana and Tina."

When I heard who picked our song, my head snapped away from Rachel and in the direction of where Santana was sitting. She had a smug look on her face. Great, who knows what Santana had picked for me. I pulled the piece of paper with the song choice on it out of Mr. Schu's hand and unfolded it. It looks like Santana thinks she is a comedian.

I made up my mind to not play in to Santana's game and decided I would put 100% into this performance. Besides even I had to admit the song was a funny choice. When I showed the paper to Rachel, her eyes got big and she blushed. I leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry, this will be fun. Let's give them a good show. I'll take the guy part, you take the girl part, and when they both sing – we'll both sing. We got this." Rachel offered me a tentative smile. I wanted to kiss her so badly right then and there in front of everyone, but I was mindful of her request for time and behaved myself.

We didn't bother to announce our song. We just let the DJ start the music. I was up first.

_I make them good girls go bad  
I make them good girls go  
Good girls go bad  
_

Once I sang the opening lines, all of the Glee members along with Mr. Schu and Miss Pillsbury started laughing.

_I know your type  
(Your type)  
You're daddy's little girl  
Just take a bite  
(One bite)  
Let me shake up your world  
'Cause just one night couldn't be so wrong  
I'm gonna make you lose control_

_She was so shy  
Till I drove her wild_

I make them good girls go bad  
I make them good girls go bad  
_You were hanging in the corner  
With your five best friends  
You heard that I was trouble  
But you couldn't resist  
I make them good girls go bad  
I make them good girls go  
Good girls go bad_

I danced around Rachel and even reprised some of my moves from Acafellas. Then it was time for Rachel to sing. She knocked it out of the park.

_I know your type  
(Your type)  
Boy, you're dangerous  
Yeah, you're that guy  
(That guy)  
I'd be stupid to trust  
But just one night couldn't be so wrong  
You make me wanna lose control_

I was mesmerized watching her shake her hips to the music in her sexy outfit. She was confident and assured. We finished our song to a standing ovation from the audience.

Once the clapping had died down, Rachel spoke into her microphone. "Thanks everyone for listening to us tonight. Now, the members of New Directions have a special treat for you – our next singer will be Will Schuester, our director.

Mr. Schu looked surprised. We all started chanting for him, "Schu, Schu, Schu." He stood up with a shrug and a smile and made his way to the stage.

Rachel continued, "Noah has picked Mr. Schu's song for tonight. Enjoy!" She then left the stage and made her way back to our table.

I gave Mr. Schu the slip of paper with the song selection. It was "Sex Bomb" by Tom Jones.

"I'm sorry Puck. I can't sing this song. This is technically a school function – it's inappropriate." Mr. Schu sputtered.

"Okay, well what about 'Delilah' by Tom Jones?" I asked.

"What's this obsession with Tom Jones?"

I smirked at Mr. Schu. "I have on good authority that a certain doe-eyed school guidance counselor has a weak spot for anything Tom Jones."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Mr. Schu – just sing the song and thank me later." With that I exited the stage and returned to the table where Rachel was sitting.

Mr. Schu started singing the song. After a little bit, I was met by Rachel's confused look. "Why did you pick this song?" Rachel asked. "It's an odd choice." I just pointed to Miss Pillsbury. She was watching Mr. Schu with a rapt expression on her face, her big eyes shining and she was fanning herself with the concert schedule flyers on their table. Rachel just giggled to herself watching Miss Pillsbury's reaction.

Once Mr. Schu was finished singing, the stage was turned over to the other people that wanted to participate in karaoke. Those of us that rode with Kurt left to head back to Rachel's house. Rachel and I shared the seat in the third row of the Navigator. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders pulling her close to me and she rested her head on my shoulder.

The ride was surprisingly quiet. I don't know that I had ever heard this particular group all be quiet at the same time – ever. They all looked deep in their own thoughts. Before I knew it, we were back at Rachel's house. Kurt parked his vehicle in the street so Rachel and I could get out. Kurt was going to drop the others at their respective houses.

I walked Rachel to her door. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep. You'll pick me up?"

"Yep." It was so unlike us to be locked in this awkward silence. "So, I guess I better go." I took exactly ten steps towards my truck and turned back. She was still standing in the same spot on the porch. I had to let he know how I felt. "You looked beautiful tonight."

**A/N: I hope you liked it.**

**Songs used were: "Drive my Car" by Paul McCartney; "Maneater" by Nelly Furtado; "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert; "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan, "Stop in the Name of Love" by The Supremes; "Good Girls Go Bad" by Cobra Starship; and, "Delilah" by Tom Jones.**

**I know, I know - "Delilah" was a very strange song choice.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Here is another chapter already. **

**Thank you to all who have read this story, alerted this story, added this story to their favorites, and/or reviewed this story. I appreciate all of it. If you reviewed the last chapter, you may have noticed that I didn't respond to the reviews like I usually do. I decided you would prefer the chapter instead.**

**I don't have a beta and I do my best to edit my own work, but I admit that after the 800****th**** time or so of reading it through, I tend to gloss over and so mistakes are made. If anyone would like to volunteer to be my beta I would love them forever.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, any of the characters or the songs mentioned in this story. The only thing that is mine is the plot.**

Chapter 7

***RPOV***

It was the day after karaoke and I was standing on my porch waiting for Noah to pick me up for school. I had my school bag and a small rolling suitcase packed for an overnight. I had cleared it with my dads and Noah's mom for me to spend the night at Noah's. It had been a week since I had spent the night at his place and I missed that connection with him. It was a source of comfort to me to spend extended periods of time with him. Time spent with Noah was refreshing. I could be myself around him and not worry about anything.

Following karaoke, Noah had pulled me close to him in the car and my heart started beating so hard. I was surprised Noah couldn't feel it. Then, just before he got into his truck, he said he thought I looked beautiful. I wanted to run to him and kiss him, but I was rooted in place by my fear. I was still paralyzed with the fear of taking that first step. Deep down, I knew it was an irrational fear, but I couldn't get past it.

I stood on the porch until his truck had disappeared from view. When I could no longer see the red glow of his taillights, I ran into the house and up to my room where I flopped down on my bed. I let out a deep breath I didn't know I had been holding. I grabbed my pillow and held it over my mouth to muffle my scream as I kicked my feet on my bed in joy.

Once I calmed myself down, I reflected on Noah's behavior at karaoke. True, my outfit had not lived up to Kurt's ideals and brought Noah to his knees, but it did evoke some type of reaction out of him. I guess it was a start.

I was brought back to the present by the sound of Noah's approaching truck. He parked in my driveway and got out of his truck to help me with my bags. It was totally unnecessary. I can handle them myself, but he was always such a gentleman with me. This was just another part of Noah that he didn't share with the general public.

Once he had stowed the bags in his truck, he leaned down and placed a quick, chaste kiss on my lips. "Good morning Rachel."

"Good morning Noah." I smiled up at him. My heart started beating wildly again like it had last night. I wanted nothing more than to kiss Noah again, but all Noah did was motion for me to get into the truck. I swallowed back my disappointment and kept the smile plastered on my face.

As we drove to school, we chatted about how we were eager for the weekend. Noah was dressed up for school today. The team had to dress up in shirts and ties on game days, or if the game was on a Saturday, then on the day before the game. McKinley High had one more football game on Saturday and then the season was over. I had yet to go to one of Noah's games. It was never something I had ever really been interested in, but now that he and I were becoming closer, I wanted to go to see him.

"So, I was thinking of coming to your game on Saturday," my voice trailed off at the end as if I were asking a question instead of making a statement.

Noah looked over at me with a smirk on his face. "You don't have to do that Rachel. I know sports like football aren't really your thing."

"I want to go," I told him. "I'd like to see you play."

"Are you sure? Who would you go with? I wouldn't want you to have to go alone."

"I thought I could meet up with Mercedes, Tina and Artie. They usually go to the games to cheer for Kurt."

"You do realize that we are horrible don't you? We probably won't win."

"Noah, I don't care if you win or lose. I just want to see you do this. I know football is really important to you and if it's important to you, it's important to me."

He was quiet for awhile. Just before I could allow myself to get too freaked out, he spoke up. "You can only come to the game on one condition."

I was shocked. He was giving me conditions on going to a public event. How dare he? I let my frustration out at him. "You're giving me _conditions_ for attending your game? I can go if I want – I don't care if you approve or not."

By the time I had finished, we had arrived at school. Noah jumped out of his truck, retrieved his football bag from the bed, and jumped back in shutting the door against the nip of the cool Fall air.

"Take off your sweater."

"Excuse me?" What in the h-e-double hockey sticks was he talking about?"

"You have something on underneath it right?"

"A tank top, but I don't really see how that is relevant right now." My indignation was rising with each passing moment. "What are you trying to do here Noah?"

Noah rolled his eyes at me. "You said you wanted to go to the game to see me play."

"Yes, but . . ." he cut me off before I could continue.

"Then you have to wear this today." He reached into his bag and pulled out a jersey. It was his jersey – with his name on the back. My heart jumped into my throat when I saw it.

"Noah I'm speechless."

"All of the players' girlfriends wear them before the game." As he finished saying this he looked up at me with an unsure glance.

I ripped my sweater over my head and threw it behind my seat. Once I had discarded it, I held my hands out to Noah while simultaneously trying to keep myself from bouncing in my seat. "Did you just ask me to be your girlfriend?" I squeaked out.

Noah chuckled. "Yeah, I did."

I threw myself at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. When I finally pulled away, I pulled the jersey over my head.

"Come here you crazy girl," Noah laughed out. He put one of his hands under my chin and pulled my face towards him as he leaned in to me. Our lips met in a sweet kiss that took my breath away. Once he pulled away we sat there with our foreheads resting against each other.

***NPOV***

I finally broke the spell. "As much as I hate to say this, we better head in to school." We slid out of the truck and I helped her tie the excess material of the shirt into a knot in the back. I brushed her hair forward over one of her shoulders and nuzzled into her neck. "Baby, I love the way my name looks on you." I couldn't help it – I did. I wanted everyone to know she was my girl now.

I had decided last night that I wanted Rachel to be my girlfriend. I didn't want to be just a friend to her anymore. I told myself that at the first sign of any interest from her, I would let my intentions be known. When I picked her up this morning, she had accepted a kiss on the lips so easily and then she made it known that she wanted to attend my game just to see me. I figured I didn't need any more invitation than that.

I walked Rachel to her first class. As we passed through the halls, you could see the shock on everyone's face and hear the loud whispers of disbelief. It's true that I had been "involved" with many of the girls at our school, but I had never let any of them wear my jersey – not even Santana. In our little insulated high school world, this was epic. I just passed by everyone with a smirk on my face.

The day flew by in a haze and school was over before I knew it. I met Rachel at her locker and pulled her into an embrace. "C'mon baby – let's get out of here."

Rachel looked up at me with her big, brown eyes and just nodded her head in response. I offered my hand to her and she took it. We were halfway through the student parking lot when she stopped. "Wait. I promised Kurt I would talk to him before I left school today. Do you mind?"

"Nope. Do you want me to come with you?"

She shook her head. "No. I should only be a minute. I'll meet you at your truck."

"No problem." I took her bag from her and made my way over to my truck. I settled behind the wheel and waited for Rachel. Five minutes passed and I figured she would be there soon. Ten minutes passed and I started to wonder where she was. When fifteen minutes had passed, I decided to go looking for her. I had just shut the door to my truck and turned to make my way over to where Kurt normally parks when I saw her making her way to my truck from that direction. To the casual observer, Rachel looked the same as always, but I could tell there was something off about her now. Something had obviously happened when she was with Kurt.

I jogged over to her. "Rachel, what's wrong? What happened over there?"

She looked up at me with a smile plastered on her face. "Nothing is wrong Noah. I don't know what you're talking about."

It was a lie. "Rachel – tell me the truth. I know you better than anyone and I can tell that something is wrong."

Rachel didn't say anything. She got into the cab of my truck and buckled herself in. I let out a long breath and climbed in after her. I started the truck and left the parking lot. I was driving a little more aggressively than normal due to my agitation. I knew something was wrong with her and she was shutting me out. As I drove, I continued to silently brood. I would sneak glances at Rachel from time to time. She was sitting staring straight ahead and now that it was just the two of us, she had let down her guard. Her shoulders were slumped and the color had started to drain from her face.

We arrived at my house quickly due to my speeding. I parked my truck and ran over to her side of the truck to help her out. I pulled her into my arms and just held her.

"Rachel – say something. Tell me what is happening. You are scaring me baby." I pleaded with her.

She pulled back and looked up at me. "Kurt just said something to me that upset me."

"What did he say? Did you two have a fight?" Rachel and Kurt were usually very close and I couldn't fathom what he could say to her that would've upset her this much.

"No, we didn't fight. I doubt Kurt even knows that what he says upset me." Rachel took a deep breath. "Noah, I promise I'll tell you – I just need some time to process."

Leaning down, I placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Okay, I'll back off, just don't shut me out." I grabbed all of our bags out of the bed of my truck. "Let's go inside. We can relax in my room with a movie."

I got Rachel settled in my room and went back out to the kitchen to slice up some apples to munch on and some bottled waters. There was a note on the kitchen counter from my mom.

_Noah,_

_I am out running some errands. I took tonight and tomorrow night as personal days so I could go to your game tomorrow. I will pick Sarah up from Kayla's house and grab a pizza on my way home. See you and Rachel when I get there._

_Love, _

_Mom_

I was happy to learn that my mom would be at my game tomorrow. Her work schedule made it difficult for her to make it to a lot of my games. I was also pleased to see that she had dinner covered.

I went back to my room with the snacks and found Rachel curled up on the bed under the blankets. She was laying on her right side facing the empty side of the bed. I toed off my shoes, placed the food on the nightstand, and crawled in next to her.

I brushed the stray stands of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "So I have some good news – my mom left me a note that she has tonight and tomorrow off so she will be able to go to my game tomorrow."

Rachel sat straight up in bed. "Your mom is going to be here tonight?!"

"Um, yeah." I was at a loss as to what was going through Rachel's mind.

"Did she say what time she is going to get here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "She just said she would pick up Sarah from her friend's and pick up a pizza and then be home sometime after that. I guess that would mean between 5:00 and 6:00. Why are you so interested in this?"

"Noah, please don't ask why, but after dinner, I need to talk to your mom in private."

"I really wish I knew what was going on, but if that's what you need. . ." my voice trailed off.

"Please Noah, just trust me. I will tell you soon."

I pulled her back down so she was lying next to me and drew her in closer to my body. "I'll drop it for now." I was screaming on the inside, but I couldn't let Rachel see that. I would give her until Sunday before I started pressing her for information again. I wouldn't let her shut me out forever.

"We sure did cause a stir at school today didn't we?" Rachel asked as she smiled up at me.

I let out a chuckle. "That's an understatement. I think I saw Jacob Ben Israel piss himself because he was so excited about the gossip to post on his blog."

"Ewwww – that is so gross. Jacob is so creepy. At least he'll leave me alone now that he knows you're my boyfriend." Rachel giggled.

"Say that again baby."

"What? Jacob is creepy?"

"No – what did you call me?"

"My boyfriend?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I crashed my lips down on to hers. We shared a passionate kiss. I couldn't get enough of her, but I willed myself to break away from her before things went too far.

"I love the way that sounds," I admitted to her.

"Me too," she said. Her voice was all breathy from the kiss. Before I could kiss her again, she scooted down the bed and rested her forehead against my chest. All I could do was hold her. She needed comfort and reassurance now more than anything.

My mom arrived home shortly after 5:00 p.m. and called Rachel and I out for dinner. My mom tried to keep the conversation flowing while we ate, but it was a lost cause. Rachel was tense and could barely choke down her pizza. All I could do was focus on how upset Rachel was. My mom could tell something was up, but Sarah chattered away blissfully ignorant to the tension in the room.

Since I had agreed Rachel could talk to my mom after dinner, I sent Sarah into the living room to watch TV and I cleared the table. I stayed in the kitchen washing and drying the dishes while the two of them talked in private in the dining room. What could she possibly need to talk to my mom about that she couldn't tell me? I was tempted to listen by the door that separates the two rooms, but I didn't. I wanted to keep my word to her and respect Rachel's privacy.

I finished up in the kitchen and Rachel and my mom were still talking. I retreated to my room to make sure my things were ready for the football game on Saturday. I hate to scramble around at the last minute. I put the last of my equipment in my bag just as my mom and Rachel walked into my room. My mom's arm was around Rachel's shoulders and it was obvious Rachel had been crying – hard.

I crossed the room in two strides and took her hands in mine. "What happened? What's wrong?"

My mom spoke up, "Noah, you need to calm down. Rachel is already upset enough."

I hadn't even realized my voice was raised. I took a deep breath to calm myself. "I'm sorry. I'm just so worried about you Rachel."

"Noah, Rachel has promised me that she will tell you everything, but she's going to do it in her own time. You are not to pressure her – do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom." I would agree to anything if it would help Rachel feel better.

"Good. Now, I have to run a quick errand. Sarah is watching TV. Can you keep an eye on her while I step out?" My mom asked me. I agreed and my mom left the room and shut the door behind her. Hmmm, that was odd. She was the one who demanded that the door be open at all times if both Rachel and I were in here.

I led Rachel over to the bed and we got back under the covers. I hit the remote for my stereo and some songs began to softly play. I held Rachel close to me and just smoothed her hair reminiscent of the way she had comforted me after my fight with Finn and the subsequent breakdown.

We laid there just holding each other for about ten minutes. The song changed to "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders. I know it had a chick lead singer, but I decided to sing along with it. I needed some way to get through to Rachel and I decided to take my chances with this song to do it.

_Oh, why you look so sad? Tears are in your eyes  
Come on and come to me now._

_  
Don't be ashamed to cry, let me see you through  
Cause I've seen the dark side too._

_  
When the night falls on you, you don't know what to do,  
Nothing you confess could make me love you less_

Once I sang those words, Rachel started sobbing again. It seemed like the lyrics were getting through to her so I decided to risk upsetting her and kept singing.

_  
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you,  
I'll stand by you._

_  
So, if you're mad get mad, don't hold it all inside,  
Come on and talk to me now.  
_

_And hey, what you got to hide? I get angry too  
But I'm a lot like you._

_  
When you're standing at the crossroads, don't know which path to choose,  
Let me come along, cause even if your wrong, I'll stand by you_

I let the music keep playing on the stereo, but I stopped singing there.

Rachel calmed her crying the best she could. "Noah, when I went to talk to Kurt today he and I had a disagreement over what I should wear to your game tomorrow."

"That's why you're upset?"

I was incredulous. There was no way she was this upset over an outfit. I hadn't seen her this upset since Finn.

"I wasn't finished," she continued in a soft voice. "When I disagreed with Kurt, he accused me of being moody due to PMS."

"Is that what this is? Hormones?" I kissed her temple. "Don't worry about that baby – I understand. It's not a big deal." She must have just wanted to talk to my mom about "girl stuff."

Rachel started crying again. "Oh, I wish it was that simple." She took a deep breath and looked up at me. "When Kurt said he thought I had PMS, I realized that I'm late."

"Late?" My voice reflected my confusion.

"Oh God, this is so humiliating." All of the color had drained from Rachel's face and her voice faltered as she continued. "Noah – I'm late as in I might be pregnant."

Just like that all of the air was sucked from my room. Without realizing what I was doing, I pulled away from her and sat up and dropped my head into my hands. This had to be some kind of cruel joke. First Quinn is pregnant by me and won't let me have anything to do with the baby, then Finn uses Rachel and humiliates her in front of the entire school and now she might be carrying his baby. Could my life get anymore fucked up?

I looked up and Rachel was gathering her things and making her way to my bedroom door. I jumped up and stopped her before she could leave my room. "Where are you going Rachel?"

"It's okay Noah. I understand if you don't want anything to do with me now. I'll just wait with Sarah until your mom gets home with the pregnancy tests." Well that explained where my mom was.

"What are you talking about?"

"You pulled away from me. I just assumed you were disgusted with me. I know I'm disgusted with myself."

I enveloped Rachel in a tight embrace. "Rachel, I meant what I said in that song. There is nothing you could tell me that would change how I feel about you. I'm here as long as you'll have me." Rachel slumped in relief against me.

"Rachel can I ask you something? Didn't you and Finn use protection?"

Rachel shook her head back and forth slowly. "No. I know it was stupid, but I got caught up in the moment and I didn't even think of it." She looked up at me. "What about you and Quinn?"

"She told me she was on the pill and I believed her." Neither of us had anything to say following those admissions.

There was a soft knock on my door. "Come in," I called.

"Hey guys. I have the test here." She held up a small brown paper bag.

Rachel's hands were shaking as she reached out for the bag. "Thanks Linda. I really appreciate your understanding."

"Don't worry about it dear." My mom smiled reassuringly at Rachel and me.

"Um, Linda – I know this is going to sound weird, but can you come into the bathroom with me. I'm too scared to do this by myself." Rachel's voice was timid as she made her request.

"Of course Rachel. You forget I am a nurse – this is nothing I can't handle.

Rachel and my mom retreated and I stayed in my room. I was pacing like a caged animal. No matter what the outcome of the test, I was going to be there for Rachel. I cared about her so much. I would even take responsibility for it if it made it easier for her to explain to everyone. I know she still didn't want anyone to know she had slept with Finn.

Five minutes later, my mom and Rachel returned to my room. I held my breath waiting for their answer.

"It was negative." Rachel was grinning from ear to ear.

I swept her up in my arms and laid a big kiss on her lips. "Oh baby, that is great news. You must feel so relieved."

My mom gave Rachel and me a moment to ourselves before she cut in. "Listen you two, I can't help but notice that Rachel is wearing your jersey, Noah. Does this mean she is your girlfriend now or are you still just friends?"

"Yeah mom – she's my girlfriend now." I smiled at my mom.

"Oh I am so happy for you two. I knew it was just a matter of time." My mom's tone turned serious then. "I have to ask though if you two are being responsible."

Rachel blushed beet red. I answered for both of us. "Mom, we just got together today. We're not ready for that step at all."

"Alright, alright. I won't talk about this anymore right now. The same rules apply for now – I need to know if Rachel is spending the night and the door stays open at all times. Just promise me that when you are ready to take that step, you'll be responsible – even if that means coming to me for advice or assistance. I know that it can seem embarrassing, but I doubt either of you wants to be in this situation again anytime soon." My heart sunk as my mom continued. "Lord knows I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet," she chuckled.

"Mom, I think you better sit down."

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger – you know you love it.**

**The song is "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders. It is such a beautiful song – I love it.**

**FYI – If any of you are Twilight fans I have started a story for that fandom called "Fate, Choice, Control" if you're interested.**

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has continued to support this story. Welcome to all of those that have recently added this story to their alerts and/or favorites. I'm blown away each time I open my e-mail and find new notifications. I also love each of your reviews and I am humbled by all of them. When I started writing this story, I never imagined I could make it to 100 reviews. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**A big thank you to alley83 for agreeing to act as my beta for this story. Go alley!! No matter what odd time of the day or night I e-mail her she is always quick to respond and I really appreciate her help. **

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Chapter 8

***NPOV***

I could feel the bile rising in my throat. I knew I had to tell my mom the truth about Quinn and my baby. I had been keeping it from her for far too long. I have been so afraid of delivering this news to my mom. I was terrified that this would be a crushing blow to the relationship I shared with her. Ever since my dad walked out on us, it has been my mom, Sarah, and me against the world. Sarah wasn't really even old enough to remember when my dad left. I did. It was hard on both my mom and me and since he had left, but we banded together and got through it. Up until now, I knew that no matter what happened in my life I knew I always had the constant of my family. I have Rachel now, but that didn't change or detract from the relationship I had with my mom and my sister.

I swallowed hard forcing the lump in my throat down. I was willing myself not to get sick all over my room before I could tell my mom the truth. My flight instinct was kicking in and screaming at me to turn and run out of my room to avoid telling my mom about my baby. I have no idea how I was going to make it through this. I raked my hand over my Mohawk and down over my face.

Then, just as I was contemplating making up some bullshit story to tell my mom instead of the reality, I felt Rachel's small hand slide into mine and she squeezed down. I turned to look into her eyes. The deep chocolate pools reflected her undying support for me. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear, "I'll stand by you."

I couldn't stop the tears from starting to silently stream down my face. She was using my words from earlier to reassure me.

My mom had been observing all of this quietly, but once she saw my tears she finally spoke up, "Noah, what's going on? What's wrong?" She sounded slightly panicked.

"Mom, I have something I need to tell you – something I've been keeping from you for awhile now." My voice was strained as I fought to keep it controlled.

My mom sunk down on to my bed. I could see in her eyes she knew how serious of a conversation this was going to be. I squeezed Rachel's hand before I let it go and pulled up a chair in front of my mom. Rachel just quietly positioned herself on the floor with her back against the door – a silent sentinel of support.

Reaching out, I grabbed my mom's hand. I looked up into her eyes. "Mom, have you heard any gossip about Quinn Fabray lately?"

My mom looked puzzled but she answered me despite her misgivings. "Is she that mean little blonde cheerleader?"

"Uh, Mom, that doesn't really narrow it down. She is mean. She is blonde. She is a Cheerio, but that describes a lot of the Cherrios.

My mom huffed at me. "Fine. I'll be more specific. She was best friends with Santana right?"

"Yeah – her." Well at least my mom could put a face with a name when I told her who the mother of her first grandchild was going to be. As if that made it any fucking better. "Have you heard any rumors about her lately?"

"Some of the other nurses at the office who have high school age kids were saying they heard she is pregnant with Finn's baby. I didn't really believe it though. You know I never pay much attention to stuff like that, Noah. Why are you asking me this?"

I dropped my head, but kept my grip on my mom's hand. I needed to maintain that connection to her as I told her. "Mom – Quinn is pregnant." I paused long enough to take a deep breath. "But Finn isn't the baby's father – I am."

My mom pulled her hand away from mine quickly as if my skin had burnt her. Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper, "What?!"

"I'm so sorry Mom. I never meant for this to happen."

My mom stood up from her place on my bed. "I'm sorry Noah, but I can't really be around you right now." She walked across the room to the door. Rachel was scrambling to get out of her way. She yanked open the door to my room and disappeared into the hallway with a choked sob breaking the silence.

Rachel slowly made her way across my room until she was standing in front of me. She softly placed one hand on top of my head, her fingers playing gently with my hair. Her touch was so comforting. I needed to feel her in my arms. In one swift movement, I pulled her onto my lap, buried my head in the crook of her neck and wrapped my arms around her petite body.

"What am I going to do Rachel? My mom hates me now." This was my worst nightmare coming true.

"Just give it time, Noah. Your mom loves you so much. Just give her time to process everything. This will all work out. You'll see."

***RPOV***

This had been a roller coaster of a day. First there was the elation of Noah asking me to be his girlfriend. Then there was the shock of the pregnancy scare coupled with the humiliation of having to tell Linda and Noah my suspicions. There's nothing like telling your current boyfriend's mom that you think you're pregnant with some other guys' baby. Yeah, that was a fun conversation.

I was overjoyed when the test showed I wasn't pregnant. A baby right now would've been a huge disaster. I have my career to focus on and helping Noah raise his child would be enough to handle. We don't need two babies. I just know I will find a way for Noah to be involved in the life of his child. If only I could figure it out. Every day that I didn't come up with an idea was another day wasted in my opinion. This was so unlike me to not see an immediate solution. There was no way I was giving up on this though.

My heart was breaking for Noah. It was so hard for him to open up to his mom and tell the truth. His relationship with his family is of the utmost importance to him. I know he is feeling like he let her down and that he is a huge disappointment. He truly is suffering right now, but it was the right time to be open and honest with her. She would've been even more hurt if he had kept it from her longer or if she had found out from someone else that Noah was going to be a father.

I've only known Linda for a couple of weeks now, but it is obvious how proud she is of Noah in everything that he does. The news of Quinn's pregnancy and Noah's role in everything must have been a giant shock to her system. She will come around though. We just need to let her come to peace with everything.

"Come on baby. Let's go to sleep. This has been a hell of a day. Maybe once I sleep on it, things will seem better," he whispered into my neck and broke me from my inner musings.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about things?" I asked him.

"No talking. All I want to do is hold you." He looked up at me then and pleaded, "Please?"

I stood up and planted a soft kiss on his lips before I gently pulled away from him. "I would love to be wrapped up in the arms of my boyfriend all night long."

"I'll never get sick of hearing that baby." He grabbed my hand and kissed it.

"I sure hope not." I teased him.

Ever since the night of Noah and Finn's fight, we were comfortable enough to change in front of each other. It wasn't like we stripped down to nothing. Noah normally slept in shorts or pajama pants with a t-shirt so it was just a matter of changing his shirt and replacing his jeans. Sure, when he changed I saw him in his boxer briefs, but he changed quickly and I couldn't really see anything when he did – no matter how hard I tried. On the nights I would sleep at Noah's, I would wear pretty much the same thing as Noah. I know it wasn't exactly alluring or anything, but I go for comfort when it comes to sleepwear. I had long ago mastered the art of changing without revealing anything and it came in handy on the nights we spent together.

That was before we were a couple though and I felt that now we were a couple, we could be a little more open with each other. I wasn't as careful as I normally was this time when I changed for bed. I still stayed 95% covered during the process, but some skin may or may not have been flashed. A lady never tells.

Noah slept fairly well that night. He tossed and turned some, but I think he was exhausted after finally unloading the secret he had been keeping from his mom for all of this time. I, however, did not sleep very much at all that night. My mind was racing with ways for Noah to repair his relationship with his mom and for ways to Noah to have a relationship with his baby.

I was still at a loss when it was time for Noah and I to go our separate ways before his game. We exchanged a quick kiss and I promised to meet him at his truck after the game. I made my way over to the gates to wait for Mercedes and Tina. Artie had to go out of town with his parents so he wouldn't be meeting us.

I met up with the girls and we made our way to a spot in the bleachers near the middle of the field. The band came out first and played a couple of upbeat songs followed by the National Anthem. Once the National Anthem was finished, the band transitioned directly into the school fight song and the team ran onto the field. Since I had spent most of yesterday staring down at Noah's jersey while I was wearing it, I knew that his number was 20. I scanned the hoard of players and spotted him near the middle of the pack. I screamed along with the rest of the crowd and clapped my hands to the beat of the fight song.

The first half of the game went by quickly. Sadly, McKinley High was losing at the half with a score of 21-3. Our seats were behind our team's bench and during one of the times Noah was on the sideline, he had spotted me in the crowd. His face lit up when he saw me. His happiness was short-lived though, when Finn appeared next to him. There was a short exchange between the two which ended with Noah pulling his helmet back onto his head and stalking away from Finn. I didn't know what that was about, but it was pretty obvious it wasn't good.

During the break at halftime, I made my way to the ladies' room. There was a line. I took my place at the end of it. A throat cleared behind me. I turned and saw Linda standing in line directly behind me.

I greeted her warmly, "Hello, Linda. Are you enjoying the game?" No matter what was going on between her and Noah currently, she still deserved my respect.

"Hi dear. I am enjoying the game." Linda answered.

"What about Sarah? Is she liking the game?"

"Oh, I wouldn't know. Sarah got an invitation to go to a sleepover tonight so she went over there. I guess it was a better offer." Linda chuckled.

"Oh." I tried to think of something else to say. "It's too bad the team is behind."

"Well there are still two more quarters to play. They have a chance to recover."

"I'll stay positive then." I smiled at her.

Linda opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. I gave her a moment to see if she could collect her thoughts. Just as I was about to prompt her, a stall opened up and I was next in line. When I was finished, Linda was waiting for me by the sinks.

"Rachel, can I speak to you outside?"

I was a little nervous about her request, but agreed. I figured she just didn't want an audience for our conversation. I followed her outside and we stood to the side of the building that housed the restrooms.

Linda's voice was quiet when she spoke, "How long has he known about this pregnancy Rachel?"

"With all due respect, I don't know if I should be the one you talk to about this Linda." I didn't know if Noah would be comfortable with me talking to his mom about this.

"Please, Rachel, I need some answers before I lose my mind." The lone tear making its way down her cheek influenced my decision to talk. Both she and Noah were hurting so badly and I just wanted to end that.

"He's known for about six weeks now."

"Six weeks? He's kept this from me for six weeks?" She didn't sound angry – just defeated. "Okay, so how long have you known that my son was the father?"

"I found out about two weeks ago – about the same time I started hanging around with Noah."

"You knew he was the father of another girl's unborn baby, but you still chose to spend time with him?" She was skeptical.

"It's complicated."

"Enlighten me."

I decided to just go for it. She needed to know the whole truth before things got really out of hand. "You have to promise to let me just talk. Let me get through the whole story before you ask any questions." She nodded her agreement.

I took a deep breath and then I told her everything. I told her how Quinn and Finn were dating, but how he and I became a secret item once he joined Glee Club. I told her how Quinn had basically seduced Noah. I didn't discount Noah's role though. After all – it takes two to tango. I told her how Quinn lied at first by telling everyone the baby was Finn's and how Finn had believed the hot tub story. Linda actually rolled her eyes at that point. I told her how the truth had been revealed about Noah being the father of the baby. I told her about Finn publically humiliating me and then finally I told her of how Noah had saved me.

When I finished my story, Linda thanked me for being honest with her. Her posture had relaxed and her face had softened as I told her all of the details. Her first question was about Noah. "How is Noah handling all of this?"

"He's hurting right now. Quinn isn't allowing him to be involved in the baby's life now or after it is born and now he thinks you hate him and want nothing to do with him." I didn't sugar coat anything.

"He thinks I hate him?" she sounded so sad.

"I know you don't, but when you wouldn't talk to him last night he assumed the worst."

"Oh, I could never hate him. It was just such a shock yesterday." She cried silently for a little while before she spoke again. "Did you say Quinn is trying to keep Noah from the baby?"

"Yes, but I'm going to find a way to fix that. He will not be shut out of his child's life." Luckily for me, she didn't press me for details. I didn't know what I would say to her if she wanted to know my plan.

"How do I fix this? I'm just not good at fixing things like this. What can I do to show Noah I still love him?"

"Well, I have discovered that Noah deals best with things through music. It's very therapeutic and healing for him and allows him to say things that he might otherwise not be able to. Perhaps you can reach out that way."

She let out a soft chuckle, "I can't sing Rachel."

"You don't have to sing it yourself. Be creative. You'll make it work, I know you will."

"Honey, I'm going to go home now and think. I know I should stay and finish watching the game, but I need to sort out my feelings so I can repair things with Noah."

"Don't worry about it. I understand and, more importantly, I know he will too."

Linda pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you for standing by him. You two are so good for each other." Her voice was watery and I started crying too.

She broke away and exited the stadium grounds before I could stop her. I stood there for a moment to collect myself before I returned to my seat with Tina and Mercedes. By the time I finally made it back to our seats, the third quarter had already commenced.

Mercedes pounced on me as soon as I sat down. "Rachel, where were you? Your man has been looking for you."

Tina was alarmed when she saw my tear stained face. "Rachel what happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's just watch the game." They watched me for a minute, but when it became clear I was over my tears, they let it go and joined me in cheering on our team.

We had the ball. Finn threw a pass, Matt caught it and we got to move down the field closer to the goal. Then, on the next play, Finn threw the ball to Noah who was wide open and Noah ran it in for a touchdown. I jumped up and down and cheered. Once Kurt kicked the extra point, the score was 21-10.

Noah jogged back to the sideline, his eyes glued to where I was sitting. By the expression on his face, I could tell it was still obvious that I had been crying not too long ago. His lips formed my name and his face was contorted with concern.

"I'm okay," I mouthed back to him.

His head shook in disbelief.

"I promise."

***NPOV***

We ended up winning the game after Finn threw passes to both Matt and Mike for two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter of the game. It was so nice to end the season with a win. The win tonight brought our record to 2-10. We were terrible. There was no way of denying it.

I hurried to shower and change back into my street clothes after the game. I wanted to get to Rachel quickly. I wanted to know why she had been crying during halftime. I swear to God if anyone did anything that upset her, I will make them regret the day they were born. My mind was racing with thoughts of things that could have gone wrong.

I was anxious as I crossed the parking lot to meet Rachel at the truck. I couldn't get to her fast enough. She was there, leaning against my truck. Her shoulders were hunched so she could draw as much of her body into her coat as possible. The temperature was chilly as was normal for this time of year. I instantly felt bad that she had to wait outside of the truck for me.

When I was close enough, I swept her into my arms and gently kissed her. "Sorry you had to wait for me."

"I haven't been waiting long. I sat in Tina's car to keep warm. She just left before you came out."

I helped Rachel into the truck and shut her door. I threw my bag into the bed of the truck before I jumped into the cab. I twisted the key in the ignition and adjusted the levels of the heater. I decided to wait for the truck to warm up before driving.

"So are you going to tell me now why you were crying during halftime?" I was careful to keep my tone neutral. I didn't want to sound as if I was attacking her or accusing her of keeping anything from me.

"I ran into your mom at halftime." Rachel was hesitant to answer me.

"What happened? Did she say something to upset you?"

She was still hesitating to answer me. "Your mom and I had a heart to heart. . . and, um. . . well. . . I told her everything." The last four words came out of her in a rush while she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"When you say everything, what exactly do you mean?" I was curious what she said that madeher so nervous.

"I mean everything. I told her the truth about me and Finn – the whole truth. I told her the whole truth about you and Quinn too and I told her how Quinn doesn't want you involved with the baby."

I put my hand under her chin and turned her head so she was looking at me. "Rachel, open your eyes." I waited until her eyes fluttered open to continue. "Do you think I'm upset with you for telling her those things?"

Rachel nodded in response.

"I could never be upset with you for telling the truth." I paused for a moment. "So, I have to ask, how did my mom take it?"

"Better than yesterday. She loves you so much and finding out that you are going to be a father was just a shock to her. She wants to patch things up with you, but she just needs time to process everything."

I understood what Rachel was telling me and I respected my mom's need for some time to be alone with her thoughts. "So you and my mom really connected tonight?"

"We did. She is very worried about you and she is worried about the baby." Rachel started giggling. "I wonder what people thought seeing us crying and hugging outside of the restrooms."

With a smile, I raised my eyebrow at her. Suddenly, she threw herself across the cab of the truck at me. She locked onto my lips in a passionate kiss. I had no idea what prompted her sudden mood swing, but I wasn't going to argue with it. I kissed her back with equal passion. I slid my fingers into her hair and trailed my kisses from her mouth, along her jaw line and down her neck. Things were starting to get really heated when a sharp rapping on the passenger side window broke us out of our embrace.

Rachel quickly smoothed her hair before hitting the button to lower her window. Between the hot air from the running heater and the heat from our, um, activities, the windows of the truck were all steamed up so we couldn't see who was standing out there until her window was all the way down. It was Kurt.

"Why hello there you two. What have you been up to?" Kurt could barely contain his mirth.

"Kurt – you're a smart guy. I'm sure you can figure it out," I snapped at him. I wasn't exactly thrilled that he had interrupted us.

Rachel was more polite when she addressed him. "Is there something we can help you with Kurt?"

"Just stopping to see if you were okay. There was a lot of moaning coming form the truck. I had to make sure no one was hurt." Kurt was smirking and his hand was placed on his hip while he reveled in teasing us.

Rachel started laughing. "Kurt you are the worst liar. Did you enjoy your little peep show?" Once Rachel said that, I started laughing too and Kurt soon joined in.

"You two are so busted! What got into you anyhow? Really? The school parking lot? Could you pick a less sexy location?"

Rachel just shrugged her shoulders. "He did that thing where he raises only one eyebrow. I can't help myself when he does that."

Just to mess with her, I raised my eyebrow again. Rachel sighed and Kurt vocalized his appreciation of my gesture. "I see what you mean Rachel."

"Well Kurt as much as we would love to stay here and chat – I need to get Rachel home now." With that, I put my truck into drive.

As I pulled away from Kurt, I heard him yell, "Go straight home you two – no detours!" Which was followed by another round of laughter.

We hadn't made it very far down the road when Rachel received a text message. "It's my dad. He and Daddy just got done with their movie. They want to know if we would like to meet them for dessert."

"Sure. That would be okay with me. I need to tell them about the baby too before they hear it from someone else."

Rachel nodded her head in agreement. "A public place would probably be best for telling them."

"What?" My palms started to sweat. I had never asked Rachel if either of her dads were violent men.

"Relax – I just mean that they are more likely to stay calm and not make a big production out of it when we are in public. They are going to be very supportive of you – you'll see. You have nothing to be scared of."

It turns out Rachel was right. They took the news in stride. We didn't disclose any of the details about Rachel. She didn't want to and I didn't see any reason why we needed to. It wouldn't have served any purpose.

Dan did most of the speaking. "Do you have an attorney to help you with custody?"

I let out a sigh and shrugged my shoulders. "I can't afford one."

"Have you contacted any attorneys to see if any of them would take your case pro bono?"

"No – not really. I got discouraged after I called five or so and got a quote for their services. Do you think any of them would take the case for free?" Deep within me a glimmer of hope ignited.

"Let me make a call on Monday to our attorney that arranged the surrogacy for Rachel. She may be able to help you. She's wonderful – a real hard ass with a great success rate, especially concerning father's rights."

"That would be awesome sir. Thank you so much."

Beside me, Rachel was beaming. "Oh, I have a good feeling about this."

"I don't want to get my hopes up yet baby." I forgot where we were and who we were with. I leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Mike cleared his throat. "Is there something the two of you would like to share with us?"

"Oh yeah – oops," Rachel giggled. "Noah is my boyfriend now."

Mike was sincere when he congratulated us. "I'm happy for you two. You seem to be good for each other."

We finished our desserts and they paid for all of us. They insisted that I spend the night at their house to give my mom some more time with her thoughts. They made sure to emphasize that the open door rule applied at their house too.

We made our way out to our vehicles. When I tried to start my truck, it wouldn't turn on. I tried about four times before I realized what the problem was. I had left the headlights on when we went inside the restaurant. Rachel jumped out of the truck and waved down her dads.

Dan climbed out of his vehicle. "Do you have jumper cables?"

"Check in the back." I got out of my truck to help him look. It dawned on me that I had placed them in my mom's trunk a couple of weeks ago when her car started acting up.

"Doesn't look like they're here," Dan commented. "Come on – just ride with us and leave your truck here. We can deal with this tomorrow."

After securing my truck, I sat in the backseat of their car with Rachel for the short drive to their house.

We changed together again. I borrowed some sweats and a t-shirt from Mike since I hadn't packed an overnight bag earlier. While we changed, I peeked to see if Rachel was going to tease me with some skin again – she did. We lay down and curled into each other before quickly drifting off to sleep. It had been a long day. I was tired from my game and I suspect Rachel hadn't slept much last night.

Rachel woke me up the next morning by pressing light kisses on my neck.

"What a way to wake up," I breathed.

"So what do you want to do today Noah?"

"That is a very loaded question." I raised my eyebrow at her. I figured it worked so well yesterday I might as well try it again.

Rachel rolled her eyes at me. "Don't get any ideas lover boy. Each of my dads have stuck their heads in here about three times each. We are under surveillance. It appears this is a whole new ball game now that they know we are dating."

"Can you blame them? Their daughter is with a guy who knocked up some other girl shortly before he started dating their little girl."

"You make it sound so sordid."

I didn't address that statement. "Hey, I have an idea. Get your laptop and bring it over to the bed." While Rachel followed my instructions, I adjusted myself so that I was in a sitting position on the bed. I made a v with my legs and patted the space on the bed in between them indicating that Rachel should sit there. She scooted into place with her back against my chest. The computer was resting on her legs.

"Okay, now what?" she asked.

"Well, yesterday was Saturday and I didn't give you your music list. I don't have my mp3 here, but we can use your computer for the songs."

"I'd like that."

Rachel and I spent the next hour or so surfing the internet. I would think of a song and she would search for it and then play it and give me her comments on it. I tried to come up with a good mix of songs and eras off the top of my head. I even threw one in for pure comedy and to see how she would react. She listened to the first three songs without saying much. Those songs were:

_1. Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison_

_2. Undisclosed Desires by Muse_

_3. Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks_

When we reached the fourth song, she gave me a bit of a hard time. What could I say? I thought the lead singer for the band was cute. Besides, I thought she would like a band with a chick lead singer. The song was:

_4. Decode by Paramore_

Again, the next few songs were met with little comment from Rachel.

_5. A Heart Like Hers by George Strait_

_6. Blister in the Sun by The Violent Femmes_

_7. Baba O'Riley by The Who_

_8. This Is How We Do It by Montel Jordan_

Then, the next song was the one I threw in for comedic relief. It was:

_9. Piss Up a Rope by Ween_

"Noah, what is this?" She had a slightly horrified look on her face.

I flashed her an innocent smile. "What? You don't like it?"

"Well it certainly is interesting."

I laughed at her. "I just wanted to see your face when you heard this song. You didn't disappoint."

"Glad I could be a source of entertainment for you," she drawled sarcastically.

"Okay, now here is the last song. Tell me if anything about it sounds familiar." The song was:

_10. Children's Story by Slick Rick_

A few bars of the song started to play before Rachel jumped up off the bed and was pointing at the computer. "That's the same beat as that Montel Jordan song!"

"Yep," I said popping the p at the end of the word. "He sampled this song."

Rachel was so proud that she recognized this. Before her celebration could really get underway though, Dan appeared at the door, "Rachel, there's a young man at the door to see you. He says his name is Finn."

Rachel froze. "What is he doing here?"

I was off the bed in a flash and wrapped Rachel in my arms. "Shh, baby, it will be okay. I'm here. Your dads are here."

"Am I missing something?" The mask of confusion on Dan's face matched the tone of his voice.

Rachel played it off fairly well. "It's really not that big of a deal. Finn and I had a little falling out a couple of weeks ago. I'm just surprised he's here is all."

"Do you want me to tell him to leave?" Dan asked.

"Or I could go and make him leave," I whispered to her.

"No." Rachel shook her head. "No. I'll take care of this myself." She slipped on her slippers with a hard sole before she crossed the room. When she reached the door, she turned back to me. "Noah, can you come with me?"

"Of course I can." I went over to Rachel's side and grabbed her hand. As we descended the stairs together, Finn slowly came into view. He was shuffling back and forth from foot to foot as he stood in the entryway of the Berrys' home. The look on his face was priceless when he saw Rachel and I coming down from her room together both still in pajamas.

"Puck what are you doing here? I didn't see your truck out there?"

"I spent the night here. Rachel's dads gave me a ride yesterday. Is there something we can help you with?"

He turned his attention to Rachel. "Rachel, can I talk to you alone?"

"If you have something to say to me, you can say it in front of Noah. There are no secrets between us." My heart swelled with Rachel's words.

"Fine. If that's the way you want it." Finn stared at me before turning back to Rachel. "I came over here to talk to you about Puck. I don't think you should be spending so much time with him?"

"Why exactly is that Finn?" Her voice was stern.

"He's not a good guy. Look at what he did – he seduced Quinn and got her pregnant and now he's moving on to you. I don't want to see another girl get hurt by him."

"That's it Hudson – you're dead," I spit out through clenched teeth. I couldn't believe the balls on this guy. Did he really believe that was true? Did he actually think he was any better than me after how he took advantage of Rachel?

Rachel laid a hand on my chest drawing my attention back to her. She was looking up at me with her large expressive eyes. "Calm down Noah. He's not worth it." She walked over and opened the front door. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave now Finn. I have nothing to say to you and I don't want to hear any more of the garbage that is coming out of your mouth. I know the truth about Quinn even if you're too blind to see it and I know the truth about Noah."

Finn stayed put. "Really, you really think you know Puck better than me? I've been friends with the guy since first grade. What do you know about him?" His voice had turned acidic.

"I know that he would never fill my head with lies just to get into my pants."

Finn finally made a move for the door. "I should've known not to bother with this." He stepped across the threshold and turned back to Rachel. "I shouldn't have worked so hard to get you into bed. It seems to me you'll crawl into bed with just about anyone. You pretend to be all goody goody, but you're nothing but a whore."

I saw red. I was ready to end Finn Hudson once and for all, but before I could make a move Rachel did the most surprising thing.

"Fuck you Finn Hudson!" With that she stomped her tiny foot down onto Finn's instep. He howled out in pain and bent over to grab his foot. When he did, Rachel swung out and clocked him in the face. In the second before she slammed the door shut, I saw the blood begin to gush out of Finn's nose. "I think you broke my nose!" He sounded as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

Rachel started shaking her hand and I grabbed it to inspect it and see if she had done any damage to her hand when she hit him. I kissed her red knuckles. It looked as if her hand would be fine. "Baby that was possibly the craziest thing I've ever seen."

She just smiled up at me. "God that felt good!"

**A/N: Okay, well I had to end it somewhere. Hope you liked it. **

**Thank you to lulubell76 for her song suggestion of "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. Thank you also to alley83 for her song suggestion of "Decode" by Paramore. If you have suggested a song in the past, but haven't seen it yet, just know that I have made a note of it. **

**Please leave a review. Constructive criticism is welcome. If I make it to 150 reviews during the course of this story, the reader who submits the lucky 150****th**** review will get an outtake of their choosing for A Fresh Start.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: Thank you to those of you who are sticking with me for this story. My life has been so crazy, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. You would insist I have been reading too much fanfiction and can't tell reality from fantasy anymore. How I wish it were as simple as that.**

**This chapter is shorter than usual, but I though we could use a little fluff before we delve back into the heavier stuff.**

**Thanks to alley83 for acting as my beta on this story.**

Chapter 9

***RPOV***

I walked briskly down the hall of McKinley High toward the New Directions rehearsal room. I held my head high, my penny loafers sounding on the tile floor with each of my determined steps. Things had definitely improved since I clocked Finn Hudson last weekend. Finn had tried to play it off as an unfortunate accident with a doorknob, but Noah made sure to set everyone straight about the origin of Finn's injury. It's not as if I attained instant popularity with the punch heard round the school, but it did give the student body something new to gossip about rather than rehashing for the millionth time my humiliation at Finn's hand.

As I passed by the hallway that led back to the gymnasium and the locker rooms, a hand reached out and wrapped around my waist. Before I could protest, I was pulled back into the dimly lit hall. As I squirmed to get away, I opened my mouth to scream.

"Easy, baby, it's just me." Noah whispered into my hair.

"Noah! Why are skulking around?" I admonished him.

"Can't a guy just want to see his girlfriend?"

Before I could answer, Coach Tanaka stuck his head out of the locker room and bellowed, "Puckerman! Get your ass back here. I won't let you go to Glee practice until you finish putting away this equipment!"

"Be right there, Coach," Noah yelled in answer. "Gotta go, babe. See you in a minute." He placed a quick kiss on my forehead.

"Hurry, I'll save a seat next to me. You know you have your group presentation with Artie today. You don't want to miss that."

Noah let out a sly smile, "Don't worry, I'll be there."

He was up to something again. "Noah Aaron Puckerman, what are you up to?"

"Nothing, you'll see."

"Hmmph," I grunted and turned away from him with a toss of my hair. I knew Noah had picked out the song, but he (and Artie) had managed to keep it a secret from me. I didn't like that one bit.

As I stalked off, I heard Noah let out a low whistle, "Is that an astronaut skirt? Cause your ass is out of this world."

I turned on my heel to confront him, but he had already disappeared. I shook my head and laughed. I was still smiling when I arrived at rehearsal. I started to make my way to a seat on the top set of the risers.

"Tut, tut, tut, I don't think so Ms. Berry," Kurt scolded me. "Your seat is down here. Puck gave me explicit instructions."

"What is going on, Kurt?"

"Just go with the flow, Rachel. You're going to like it."

I took my seat in the chair that was designated for me. I was a little uneasy. I started to notice that I was the only one with an "assigned seat." All of the other students were seated on the second or third riser.

I hissed at Kurt, "Hummel, tell me what is going on! Now!"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "Hummel? I think you've been spending too much time with your boy toy. Wasn't it you who informed me about how it is polite to refer to people by their given name and not solely by their last name?"

"Fine, tell me what is going on Kurt."

"Sorry, no can do. Now sit there, keep your mouth shut, and enjoy the show."

I turned back around and angrily crossed my arms over my chest.

The school jazz band was taking its place on the side of the room. Noah arrived and helped Artie hook up his guitar to the amplifier. I noticed Noah wasn't going to join Artie on the guitar for this song. He just took a chair and placed it about three feet in front of my chair facing me. He had a satisfied smirk on his face as he took his seat.

"Okay, guys, today Noah and Artie are going to perform a song for us. It's a surprise what they're singing, not even I know what they picked," Mr. Schu informed the class.

I glared at Noah. How had he managed to keep his song a secret from everyone? Noah merely raised one eyebrow in response. That rat bastard! He knows I have no defenses against that move.

Just then, Miss Pillsbury stuck her head in the room, "Sorry to interrupt." She said as she directed a doe-eyed smile at Mr. Schu.

"It's no trouble Emma. What can we do for you?" Mr. Schu responded in an equally sweet voice.

"It's Coach Sylvester. She's tied up three of the Cheerios with the jump ropes they use for their routines. I need you to distract her so I can free the poor girls."

"Okay, guys, I need to go help with this. I shouldn't be too long."

Noah looked up and surreptitiously winked at Miss Pillsbury. "Don't worry Mr. Schu, we'll just sing without out. I'm sure Rachel will give you a full critique when you get back."

"Uh, okay, sure. You got this Rachel?" Mr. Schu asked me.

"Absolutely, Mr. Schuster. You can count on me." It's about time this group recognized my inherent ability to recognize a worthy performance.

Without another word or backward glance, Mr. Schu was out the door and following Miss Pillsbury down the hall away from the rehearsal room.

Noah nodded at Artie, who in turn nodded at the jazz band. The first few bars of the song began. Kurt tossed a fedora at Noah who placed it low on his head. He started singing with his head turned to the side:

_Baby take off your coat_

_Real slow _

He turned to face me and got down on his knees in front of my chair. He slowly slipped off my shoes and rolled down my knee socks slipping them off my feet, placing a small kiss on the bottom of each of my feet while he sang the next lines:

_Take off your shoes_

_I'll take off your shoes_

_Baby, take off your dress_

_Yes, yes, yes_

Thankfully, he did not act out the lyrics of the song to take off my dress. Standing, he moved behind my chair and turned it to the side so I was facing the band. He took off the hat and placed it on my head.

_You can leave your hat on_

_You can leave your hat on_

_You can leave your hat on_

As he continued singing, Noah started rotating and gyrating his hips. I felt my mouth go slack and my face flush. He was so incredibly sexy. All intelligent thought had left my brain.

_Go over there, turn on the light_

_Hey, all the lights_

Noah grabbed my hand and had me stand and then he lifted me onto the chair I had just been sitting in.

_Come over here, stand on that chair_

_Yeah, that's right_

_Raise your arms up in the air_

_Now shake 'em_

I decided to heed Kurt's advice and just have fun. I raised my hands and started dancing along to the music. The smirk on Noah's face that had been there since he started singing morphed into a hungry grin.

_You give me reason to live_

_You give me reason to live_

_You give me reason to live_

_You give me reason to live_

I heard whoops and catcalls coming from our friends. Noah continued to dance around the base of my chair as he sang.

_Sweet darling, (you can leave your hat on)_

_You can leave your hat on_

_Baby, (you can leave your hat on)_

_You can leave your hat on (You can leave your hat on)_

_(You can leave your hat on)_

When he sang the next verse, Noah stood still and just looked up at me.

_Suspicious minds are talkin'_

_They're tryin' to tear us apart_

_They don't believe in this love of mine_

_They don't know what love is_

_They don't know what love is_

_They don't know what love is_

_They don't know what love is_

_Yeah, I know what love is_

I could see the words weren't just lyrics to him. They were coming from his heart and he had meant every word. I froze. Noah started dancing again, this time getting Brittany, Santana, and Mercedes to act as his back-up dancers.

_There ain't no way_

_(You can leave your hat on)_

_You can leave your hat on_

_(You can leave your hat on)_

_Give me the reason to live_

_(You can leave your hat on)_

_You can leave your hat on_

The song finished to screams from our friends. Noah reached out and placed his hands my waist and lifted me off the chair. My body slid along his as my feet returned to the ground.

"Did you mean it?" I asked him as I looked up into his eyes.

"With all my heart."

"I love you too, Noah. I love you so very much." I kissed him feverishly forgetting that we had an audience.

"Okay, you two, break it up," teased Santana. "There are innocent virgin eyes in this classroom and we don't want to corrupt them."

"Well, we wouldn't want to do that now would we, Berry?"

"Definitely not, Puck," I breathed back at him.

"Eww, I think using each other's last names is some kind of sick foreplay for these weirdos!" exclaimed Kurt.

Noah and I responded at the same time, "Can it, Kurt."

We were all brought out of the moment by the yells of Mr. Schuster. "Sue! Sue! Leave Emma alone! Sue! Drop those jump ropes!"

"What in the world is going on out there?" Mercedes asked.

"I'm not sure we want to know." replied Tina.

Mr. Schu stuck his head in the room, "Class dismissed kids, see you tomorrow." He took off again yelling after Coach Sylvester.

We all burst out laughing. What a crazy day.

**A/N: Like I said at the top, just a little fluff before we deal with the heavy stuff. I hope you enjoyed it. The song was "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Joe Cocker. Reviewers get a private dance from Puck.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: So here is the next installment of my little story. Thanks to all who have stuck with me. Real life has been hard for me the past few months and I appreciate all of your patience with my sporadic updates. It's hard to believe I originally posted this story more than one year ago.**

**Thanks to alley83 for acting as my beta on this story. **

Chapter 10

***RPOV***

Yesterday Noah had sung that Joe Cocker song in Glee and declared his love for me. While I am ecstatic about this development, I'm also now concerned that the song Kurt and I had chosen for our presentation was woefully inadequate. That concern was currently overriding all other emotions at the moment. I was consumed by my distraction, to the ire of my partner, Kurt.

"Rachel! What is going through your brain? You haven't heard a word I've said, have you?" Kurt's voice cut through my thoughts.

"Noah used his song to tell me that he loves me."

"Yeah. . .," Kurt drew out his response, "And your point is?"

"What does our song tell him?"

Kurt got up from the sofa in his basement bedroom and walked over to his vanity. "What are you trying to say, Rachel?"

"I can't follow up his declaration of love with 'If I Were a Boy' by Beyonce! It sends the wrong message."

Kurt turned to face me. "I understand what you're saying, but our presentation is tomorrow. How can we change the song now?"

I stood up from the couch. "Kurt, do you doubt our abilities? We can pull this off."

"What song do you have in mind?"

My face fell and my shoulders slumped. "That's the problem. I don't know what to pick." I collapsed back onto the sofa.

"Hmmm, you're thinking too hard about this. We need to distract ourselves for a bit and then come back to this. Once we have a fresh perspective, I bet the right song will just appear to us," suggested Kurt.

"Well it certainly can't hurt. What sort of diversion did you have in mind?" I asked him.

He placed his mp3 player in its docking station and pressed play. In no time, pounding dance beats were reverberating out of the speakers. "Darling, we need to dance!"

I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. "I'm not in the mood, Kurt. I don't feel like dancing!"

He looked at me in mock horror. "Blasphemy! Get your cute little ass up and start dancing now!" He was already starting to move to the music. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up off of the couch. I started moving hesitantly at first, but the more I moved, the more my resistance waned and then the more I got into it.

"There's my girl," Kurt encouraged me.

I closed my eyes and just let my body move to the music. He was right, my stress was melting away. I don't know how long we danced. I lost track of time. Several songs into our dance party the beat of the songs slowed with the change to the next track

"Whoops, sorry – next song," Kurt apologized as he moved to skip to the next track.

"No, wait." I was panting from all of the dancing, "Listen to these lyrics." We were both silent as we listened to the remainder of the song.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"This will be the perfect song, Kurt. Please, please say you will sing this song with me tomorrow for our Glee presentation instead of the Beyonce song."

"Only if you let me choose our costumes." He bargained.

"Costumes? Why can't we just wear our school clothes?"

"No offense, Rachel, but if we're going to pull this song off, you're going to have to wear something other than your normal virginal school girl get-up. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Besides, you want to sing this song don't you?"

I huffed at him, "Fine! Now let's get to work. We don't have a lot of time to prepare."

***NPOV***

I hadn't been able to find Rachel since fourth period. That was unusual and I was starting to worry about her. Her Glee presentation was this afternoon and I knew she wouldn't give up a chance to perform. Where was she?

I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent her a quick text before sixth period.

_**-Are you okay? ~ N**_

_-I'm fine. I'll see you at Glee rehearsal, okay? ~ R_

_**-Okay, miss you. ~ N**_

_-You too. ~ R_

So sue me, I've turned into a sap. Love will do that to a guy, I guess. I'm not ashamed of it though. Fuck everyone else. They can think what they want.

As I pretended (poorly) to pay attention in sixth period, my mind drifted to the state of my relationship with my mom. We had talked since my football game, but not about the baby or anything important. Things were still tense between us. I just wanted to get back to normal, well as normal as they could be now that I was going to be a father.

I had met once with the attorney that Rachel's dads had recommended. She was incredible. She gave me hope without sugarcoating the situation. She had also agreed to take my case on a pro bono basis. I will be forever grateful to Dan and Mike for their help and encouragement. They could've forbidden Rachel to see me once they learned the truth of my impending teenage fatherhood, but they didn't. I don't know if I were in their shoes if I could be as compassionate.

I know that my mom had met a couple of times with Dan and Mike over the past week. The guys had asked my permission to contact her under the premise of just getting to know each other. I have a sneaking suspicion there was more to it than that, but I know that Dan and Mike only have good intentions, so I haven't worried too much about it.

The bell signaling the end of sixth period rang and broke me out of my reverie. I made a quick stop at my locker before heading to the choir room. Besides Rachel and Kurt, Mike and Matt were also giving their presentation today and I had agreed to play guitar for them.

When I got to the choir room, Mr. Schu was standing there (again with Miss Pillsbury). "Hey, Puck, change of plans - today's rehearsal will be held in the auditorium instead of the choir room." He informed me.

"Alright, I just need to grab my guitar. I'm helping Mike and Matt today." I didn't think too much about the room change.

"Awesome, I can't wait to hear it." He replied.

Once I was in the auditorium, I found a stool and positioned myself on the stage off to the side so as not to take the focus off of Matt and Mike. I looked around, but I couldn't find Rachel or Kurt anywhere.

Mr. Schu hopped up on the stage to announce the first group. "Okay guys, settle down. We have a lot of groups to make it through today since I had to leave the other day to restrain Coach Sylvester." A snicker went through the crowd. "Rachel and Kurt were supposed to perform first but they aren't ready to go yet, so they will be going last so they can finish their preparations. So, without further adieu - Mike and Matt will perform first."

I let a small smile slide onto my face. I could only imagine what kind of preparations those two would need. Last I knew, they were singing a Beyonce song. Knowing Kurt and Rachel, they probably are re-enacting the entire video frame for frame or something over the top like that.

Matt addressed the Glee members that were seated in the audience. "Okay guys, Mike and I are singing 'If I Had $1,000,000' by the Barenaked Ladies." He nodded his head to me and I started in with the guitar. Our regular accompanist joined in on the piano. The guys took turns with the lines. They did a great job and received a hearty applause from our peers when they finished.

I put my guitar back in its case and made my way down to the seats to watch the remainder of the performances. The next group for the day was Mercedes, and Santana. They were singing "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles. Santana and Mercedes' voices blended well together. Their performance gave me chills.

Next up was Finn and Quinn. They sang "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. This song was obviously Quinn's choice; you could see the discomfort on Finn's face. I tuned them out when I felt my phone vibrate to signal an incoming text message.

_-You owe me. ~ K_

What did he mean by that? I sent him a reply echoing my question.

_-You'll see. ~ K_

Quinn and Finn finished up their song and Brittany and Tina took the stage. They both sat on stools for their performance. Their song choice was "Glitter in the Air" by Pink. We were all enraptured. They were baring their souls to us. The honesty of their performance was unbelievable.

The curtain to the stage closed once Brittany and Tina were finished. Mr. Schu made his way back up on the stage. Standing in front of the curtain, he announced Kurt and Rachel. "Alright, let's hear it again for all of the groups. Awesome job you guys." He paused while everyone clapped again, "Next up are Rachel and Kurt with some help from the Cheerios with their dancing. Kurt and Rachel were going to be singing 'If I Were a Boy', but they made a last minute change and will now be singing 'Chocolate' by Kylie Minogue."

This was news to me. What had those two been up to?

The music began and the curtain slowly rose. Rachel and Kurt were standing back to back. They each had the leg closest to the front of the stage extended out in front of them with their toes pointed and resting lightly on the stage. The lighting was low so that they each appeared only in silhouette. A group of about ten Cheerios were arranged behind them. When the curtain passed above their height, they started moving. They bent at the waist, leaning forward, sweeping their hand along their respective legs, towards their toes. When their hands reached the tips of their toes, they shifted their weight onto their front feet, leaning forward, extending the hands that had been trailing down their leg up at an angle. Their bodies then snapped to face forward with their arms crossed at the wrist over their heads. The lights came up at this point and I could see what they were wearing.

Correction, I could see what Rachel was wearing. I couldn't focus on anyone else but her. She was wearing a white men's dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was unbuttoned just enough to show off her ample cleavage. Over the white shirt, she had a black leather lace-up corset-type thing. My heart almost stopped when I noticed her short shorts they were black and I think they would be better described as hot pants. The outfit was finished off with a pair of sheer black stockings with a seam up the back of her legs and a pair of black stilettos (or as some of the guys in the locker room referred to them – handlebars, but I digress). Her hair was down and styled in a tousled, bed-head type manner, which was not helping my current train of thought. I forced myself to concentrate on the lyrics of their song to avoid embarrassing myself. Kurt and Rachel sang the whole song together.

_Fragile, seems I opened up too quick and all my dreams were woken up  
I slowly lost my fight  
with every single man a river cried_

_I had no sensation, completely numb I felt no satisfaction  
I thought no one could ever get me high again  
I swear I was not looking _

Kurt and Rachel kept their moves simple as they sang and danced, but their movements were perfect for the song.

_I've waited so long, I thought the real thing was a fake, I thought it was a tool to break me down  
you prove me wrong again_

If love were liquid it would drown me in a placeless place refine me,  
in a heart shape come around me and then melt me slowly down  
if love were human it would know me in a lost space come and show me,  
hold me and control me and then melt me slowly down, like chocolate 

_Tastes so good my hearts been mended, who'd have thought it would?  
an empty bed and still I won the catch, a man who I love and who loves me back_

Well, Rachel sure knew how to return the favor for my little public declaration of love through song the other day. Not only was she singing about love, but her outfit and dance moves spoke to another four-letter word that began with l - lust. I shifted in my seat and Artie reached over and shut my mouth for me with a smirk on his face.

As they repeated the chorus, I took a quick moment to look around at the rest of the Glee members. Everyone's eyes were glued to the stage. __

Come here, zoom in, catch the smile  
there's no doubt it's for you and I'm addicted tonight

Just one look boy to mellow it out  
just one heart here to save me now  
your candy kisses are sweet I know  
hold me tight baby, don't let go

They finished their performance to whistles and catcalls from our group. I jumped out of my seat and rushed to the stage. I scooped up Rachel into a tight hug and placed a quick kiss on her lips. Rachel smiled at me and tried to pull out of the hug. I turned her so her back was against my chest and held her close to me. I didn't want any questions that she was my girl. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You're wearing that home, right?"

She whispered back, "That was my plan."

I forced myself to pull away from Rachel and turned to Kurt. "Hummel, I don't know whether to punch you or kiss you for dressing Rachel this way."

Kurt stuck his hand out to shake mine, so I took it. He pulled me in close enough so that only I could hear him as he said, "You could always just spank me."

I let my head fall back as I laughed. I pulled him in for a hug. "You are too much." The three of us made our way back to the choir room to grab our things before we made our way out to the parking lot. I helped Rachel into my truck before I got in myself and drove home. Kurt honked and waved to us as he also drove out of the parking lot.

Rachel and I were the first ones to arrive at my home. I gathered all of our things out of the bed of the truck and followed Rachel to my room. Once we were inside the room, I closed the door and leaned back against it. I just stared at Rachel for a moment. "You are so beautiful."

"So I take it you like the costumes Kurt designed?" she asked with a teasing tone in her voice.

I tilted my head to the side and lifted my one eyebrow in response. The eyebrow that I know she can't resist.

"You play dirty, Puckerman."

"Look who's talking. How am I supposed to think straight when you're dressed like that?" I took a couple of steps towards her. "Perhaps, I will be able to concentrate better when you're out of those clothes."

"Wh-wh-what?" she stuttered.

***RPOV***

"You heard me," Noah said in an even tone. He closed the remaining space between us, placed his hands on my shoulders, and spun me so that my back was facing him. My heart was racing and my breathing quickened. "Relax, baby. I won't hurt you and I won't do anything you don't want to. Just say the word and I'll stop." He whispered those words into my ear, his warm breath tickling my ear.

Noah brushed my hair to the side and placed a lingering kiss on the side of my neck. Then, he slowly pulled at the lacing that held my corset together until it fell away from my body. Once I was divested of the corset, Noah returned his attention to my neck. His lips and teeth were gently working on my sensitive skin.

"Noah, stop. Don't leave marks. It looks so tacky," I managed to breathe out. His kisses felt so good I hated to ask him to stop. True to his promise, Noah ceased his attention to my neck and turned me back to face him. Holding my head in his hands, he kissed the side of my mouth.

"No marks at all or just none where they can be seen?"

Before I could answer, he claimed my moth in a deep kiss. When I was able to break away from the kiss, I answered him. "No visible marks."

My answer seemed to ignite something in Noah and he hungrily kissed me again. My hands made their way to the back of his head and held him to me. The kiss ended when we both needed air.

Noah took a half step back and brought his hands to the buttons of my shirt. One by one, his agile fingers released the buttons until the shirt hung loosely open. He gently eased the shirt off of my shoulders and onto the floor, revealing my black lace bra to him. Despite the fact that we have changed in front of each other, I had never been this exposed to him before. Surprisingly, I felt no trepidation. I only felt safe.

"You are so incredibly hot, Rachel."

It was empowering to know that Noah was so attracted to me. I moved my hands to the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, along with his undershirt. I took in his muscular form and his nipple ring. I let one of my hands trail over his chest. I flicked his nipple ring with my finger as my hand trailed over that area and down his torso. He let out a hiss of pleasure and leaned forward to kiss me again.

My hand reached the buckle of his belt and I brought my other hand up to help me undo the belt. Noah responded by deftly unclasping my bra and quickly pulled the garment from my body. His hands were cupping my bare breasts in a flash. I couldn't help the moan that escaped my lips. The sensation of skin on skin was unreal. I could only imagine how it would feel on a larger scale.

I resumed my work on his pants and had the button open and the zipper down in short order. I took a couple steps back until I felt my legs hit the edge of his bed. I sat down and scooted back until I was more in the middle of the bed. My hand was still connected with Noah's and as I laid back, I pulled him down over me. He rested in between my thighs, both of our bare chests heaving. I raised up slightly so I could use my hands to push his jeans down. When I couldn't reach them anymore, I used my feet to help push them the rest of the way off of his legs, leaving him in only his black boxer briefs.

"Rachel." Noah's voice came out in a breath. "You have no idea what you're doing to me."

I kissed my way up his jaw until my mouth was next to his ear. "Only the same thing you're doing to me. I want you so bad, Noah," I whispered.

Once again, Noah claimed my lips with a bruising kiss, rocking his hips into mine. A desperate moan came out of my mouth when the delicious feeling of his hardness rubbing against my most intimate area coursed through my body. This was incredible. There were still layers of fabric separating us and still this was more intense than anything I had ever shared with Finn. I moved my hips in rhythm with Noah, each movement getting me closer to the edge. All that could be heard in the room was our moans and pants as we moved against each other.

Then, just as I was about to tip over the edge, Noah suddenly jumped up from the bed. "Shit."

I was at a loss. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Shit, shit, shit," he continued. "Get off the bed and get dressed now, Rachel!"

"What, why?"

Before he could answer, I heard his mother's voice carry down the hall as her footsteps grew closer to Noah's locked bedroom door. She wasn't alone either. I could hear the voices of my dads mingling with hers. I scrambled off the bed, pulling clothing on as quickly as I could manage. Not fast enough though.

Noah's mom was jiggling the doorknob. "Why is this door locked?"

**A/N: Don't forget reviewer #150 gets a one-shot outtake of their choosing. **

**Songs for this chapter – "If I Had $1,000,000" by Barenaked Ladies; "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myers; "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton; "Glitter in the Air" by Pink; and "Chocolate" by Kylie Minogue**


End file.
